Bulgaria anti-graft party drops bid to form government, extending deadlock

FILE PHOTO: Kiril Petkov and Assen Vassilev, leaders of the centrist "We Continue The Change" (PP) party, speak to the media after the first exit polls during a general election, in Sofia, Bulgaria October 2, 2022. REUTERS/Spasiyana Sergieva/File Photo

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's second largest party, the anti-corruption We Continue the Change (PP), gave up plans on Friday to form a government after failing to win backing in the hung parliament, prolonging a political deadlock.

The Balkan country has been in political crisis since 2020, when thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets to protest against rampant high-level graft.