Bulgaria's GERB party leads ahead of Nov. 14 election- survey

Boyko Borissov, former Bulgarian Prime Minister and leader of centre-right GERB party, speaks during a news conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 12, 2021. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party leads its rivals a week ahead of the country's third parliamentary election this year amid a prolonged political crisis, surging coronavirus infections and rising energy costs, a new opinion poll showed on Saturday.

But neither GERB nor any of the other five parties expected to win seats in the new parliament is expected to win a majority, raising the prospect of tough coalition talks on forming a government in the poorest European Union member state.