Bulgaria election likely after centre-right party refuses to form government

FILE PHOTO: Former Bulgarian Prime Minister and leader of centre-right GERB party Boyko Borissov holds his mask while coming out after casting his vote at a polling station , during parliamentary and presidential elections, in Sofia, Bulgaria, November 14, 2021. REUTERS/Spasiyana Sergieva/File Photo

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party refused on Thursday to form a new government, bringing the Balkan country closer to snap polls in the autumn.

Bulgaria is embroiled in a political crisis after the coalition government of reformist Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was toppled in a no-confidence motion last month and his PP party failed to muster enough support to form a new cabinet.