Sofia, 2 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Bulgaria will hold parliamentary elections on Sunday for the fifth time in the past two years amid political gridlock in the EU and NATO nation.

The election was called because no party managed to form a government after the last round of parliamentary elections six months ago. Recent polls have indicated a neck-and-neck race between two pro-Western camps.

The centre-right GERB-SDS alliance of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the free-market conservative block PP-DB of ex-Prime Minister Kiril Petkov are both polling at around 26% of the vote.

Polling stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). An official final result should be announced within four days.

The election campaign was shaped by concerns about rising inflation and mutual allegations of corruption by the parties.

Bulgaria's support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion also caused controversy.

At the end of 2022, the Bulgarian parliament approved the first military aid package for Kiev. But President Rumen Radev declared that Bulgaria would not supply arms to Ukraine as long as an interim cabinet was in power.