Protest Parties Surge in Bulgaria Election, Threatening Prime Minister Borissov

SOFIA - Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov may have difficulty holding on to power after a surge of votes in an election Sunday for anti-establishment and anti-corruption parties that want him out.

Exit polls forecast his center-right GERB party to remain the largest party in parliament, but with around 25% of the vote, compared with the 33.5% it won four years ago. Behind it, the opposition Socialists and a new anti-establishment party founded by a singer vied with each other for second place, and two other protest parties that reject Borissov were forecast to enter the parliament. After a decade of dominating Bulgarian politics, Borissov has few natural coalition partners.