Bulgarian Communists Are Expected to Win

Communists, with support from Bulgarians who favor a slower pace toward reform, are expected to clinch a strong parliamentary victory in runoff elections held Sunday.

State television reported some voting irregularities, including illegal canvassing near polling stations. But the voting generally appeared to go smoothly.

The 400-seat Parliament, the first freely elected legislature in Bulgaria in 58 years, will have a substantial number of opposition lawmakers, and their presence will mark the end of rubber-stamp approval for policies of the former rulers.

The Communists--who now call themselves Socialists--were the winners in the first round of voting on June 10, garnering 172 seats. They needed to win only 29 of the 81 seats being decided in the runoffs to gain an absolute majority.

Communist leader Alexander Lilov was a first-round winner, but Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov faced a runoff.

The main opposition alliance, the United Democratic Forces, won 107 seats in the first round, and other opposition groups won 40. The alliance and the Agrarian Party, a once docile ally of the Communists, have both vowed not to join a coalition with the new Communists.

However, Communist and United Democratic Forces officials have said they might form a government of specialists chosen on the basis of their expertise rather than their political affiliation.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 6 p.m.

Dimiter Popov, secretary of the Central Electoral Commission, said the commission expects to announce the results Tuesday, the state news agency BTA reported.

State television said 75% of the eligible voters had cast ballots shortly before the polls closed. In the first first round, 91% voted.

First-round results show that in 22 of the 81 constituencies where balloting was repeated Sunday, Communist candidates had a substantial lead over their rivals, and in 33 others they had a slight edge.