Computer crash delays Bulgaria poll

Stoyanov: Hoping for second five-year term

SOFIA, Bulgaria -- A computer crash has thrown Bulgarian elections into chaos with officials saying they will not be able to announce a result until Tuesday.

Without an announced result to the first round of voting which took place on Sunday neither of the two-front-runners can start campaigning for the second round.

According to unofficial vote-counting from pollsters and non-governmental organisations present at polling stations the incumbent, Petar Stoyanov will face Socialist Party leader Georgi Parvanov in the runoff.

Under Bulgarian law, a runoff must be held if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, or if turnout is below 50 percent, both of which the unofficial counts say happened on Sunday.

COUNTRY PROFILE At a glance: Bulgaria Provided by CountryWatch.com

The central electoral commission said on Monday that the unidentified technical problems would delay the announcement of a result until at least Tuesday.

Turnout was the lowest in Bulgaria's history with only about 39 percent of more than six million eligible voters taking part, reflecting widespread anger and frustration over poverty and allegations of corruption in one of the poorest European Union candidate states.

The level of voter apathy and Parvanov's poor performance were the biggest surprises of election day.

Opinion polls in the run-up to polling day had given Stoyanov a clear lead over Parvanov yet the unofficial results have the challenger slightly ahead of the incumbent

"The explanation for the result is that the people are disappointed," Stoyanov told Reuters news agency immediately after polls closed.

"They expected that after more than 10 years (of reforms) they would live better, but this has not happened and I am also to be blamed for that."

Parvanov told a news conference: "People are de-motivated because every day their lives are getting worse and worse ... Low turnout shows a collapse in people's trust in the state, in its ability to protect citizens."

The Bulgarian president has limited powers but is the face of the country abroad and his efforts could be vital in the country's ambitions to join NATO and the EU.

He can veto legislation once and his veto can be overruled by parliament. He is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and appoints ambassadors and the heads of the security services.