SOFIA: The centre-right GERB party of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has won 24.2pc of votes in the parliamentary election in Bulgaria, data from the central electoral commission showed on Monday, with 42.5pc of the ballots counted.

The new, anti-establishment party There Is Such a People of popular TV host and singer Slavi Trifonov came in second with 19pc, followed by the opposition Socialists with 14.9pc, data showed.

The anti-graft grouping Democratic Bulgaria and centre-left alliance Stand Up! Mafia Out!, that were behind massive anti-corruption protests seeking to topple Borissov last year got 11pc and 5.1pc percent, respectively.

The ethnic Turkish MRF party won 8.7pc of the vote, while the nationalist VMRO, the current coalition partner of GERB was at 3.6pc, close to the 4pc threshold for parliament entry, according to the data.

Final official results are expected on Thursday.