Preliminary official results today gave the centre-right Gerb party, led by Boyko Borisov, a former prime minister, 30.7 per cent of the vote, just ahead of the 27.1 per cent polled by the Socialist party.

The result gives Gerb 12 seats more than its left-wing rivals in Bulgaria’s 240 seat parliament, but falls well short of the majority needed to form a government.

Sunday’s election came after Mr Borisov and his Gerb government quit in February following massive, and occasionally violent, demonstrations in which Bulgarians vented their frustration with the government and a prolonged economic malaise gripping the country that has made living standards fall and unemployment rise.

The news that Gerb had won most of the votes brought demonstrators back onto the streets of Sofia. Angry protestors clashed with police outside government buildings and chanted “mafia” at politicians, reflecting the widespread perception that corruption remains endemic in Bulgarian politics.

Despite topping the polls, Gerb’s victory could prove hollow. Neither of the two other parties in the Bulgarian parliament, the nationalist Ataka party and the Turkish minority MRF, are likely to enter a coalition with Gerb leaving the door open to the Socialists to cobble together some form of government of national unity.