A slew of official investigations, accusations and counter-accusations have dominated a campaign in which the former ruling GERB party has maintained its poll lead.
The alarming decline in the population will further destabilise the economy and society unless the government can turn matters round.
Ex-premier ousted by street rallies has wrong-footed his opponents and now looks on course to regain power in May.
The likelihood of a hung parliament poses questions about the future of Bulgaria’s adherence to tough austerity measures, which in turn will affect investor confidence.
Reports about the number of impoverished migrants from Bulgaria and Romania are alarming Germany - but how accurate are these claims?
Some experts suspect that the exercise in ‘people power’ that has driven Bulgaria’s government from office is not quite what it seems.
The Prime Minister’s dramatic resignation is unlikely to avert the danger of a descent into Greek-style meltdown.
It was another year of fiscal discipline, economic stagnation, fragile - if not fraying - democracy and limited progress in infrastructural projects.
Bulgaria’s decision to join Greece and block Macedonia’s EU accession talks has sparked anger in Macedonia - further chilling relations between Sofia and Skopje.
January referendum on question of nuclear power looks unlikely to end the political infighting over the troubled Belene power project.
The suicide bombing is a shock to a country where such attacks are unknown – but the past experience of countries targeted by bombers is that the tourist industry usually bounces back in the long term.
Serbia’s initiative to establish a pan-Balkan extradition treaty may see lift-off next year - but Kosovo’s exclusion from the scheme looks like another politically driven error.
A movie set against the background of the deportation and destruction of the Jewish community in Macedonia is causing controversy in neighbouring Bulgaria even before it’s been released.
After the recent presidential and mayoral elections, Bulgaria’s GERB party now holds all the levers in its hands – but will this translate into reforms?
Rising criticism from Brussels and at home is forcing Bulgaria’s centre-right government and its pugnacious leader onto the defensive.