Crisis-hit Bulgaria to return to the polls October 5

Bulgarians will return to the polls for snap elections in October, the main political parties announced on Friday, after months of political crisis. Sergey Stanishev, the leader of the ruling Socialist party, said after meetings with opposition parties that the poll will likely take place on October 5, although the date has yet to be approved by the country's president.
The EU's poorest country has faced renewed political instability since Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski's year-old government lost the backing of a key ally earlier this month. Oresharski, whose government is the second to collapse in less than 18 months, is expected to resign in the coming weeks. He only took office in May 2013 but has faced months of protests over his cabinet's apparently close links with oligarchs.