SOFIA (Bulgaria), March 3: Tens of thousands of Bulgarians furious over poverty and corruption protested in more than a dozen cities on Sunday, as a lack of clear support for any political party mired the country in limbo days after the government was toppled.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov quit along with his centre-right government on Wednesday after two weeks of sometimes violent protests. He remains in office until an interim government is appointed, most likely next week, which will take Bulgaria to elections due on May 12.

However Bulgarians are still struggling to unite behind a single political leader or give voice to a clear set of demands.

Polls suggest neither Borisov’s rightist GERB party nor the opposition Socialist Party has enough support for an overall majority, and whichever wins the election will have to try to assemble a coalition to form a working government.

Thousands of people took to the streets of cities including the capital Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas, Blagoevgrad, Ruse and Sliven on Sunday — a national holiday. In the biggest rally, about 50,000 protested in the Black Sea city of Varna, local media reported.

“It is obvious that the protesters are not united and this could very quickly destroy the enthusiasm of the people,” said Georgi Trendafilov, a demonstrator in Sofia downtown.

Six years after joining the European Union, Bulgaria trails far behind other members. Its justice system is subject to special monitoring and it is excluded from the passport-free Schengen zone because of other members’ concerns about graft.—Reuters