No more than 150 people vote at the Bulgarian polling station in Ennis, County Clare, Northern Ireland. By early afternoon, half of all voters had turned up at the polling station, although only 14 people had registered before the start of the election. This leads election organisers to predict a high turnout by the end of polling day there.

Daniela Georgieva is the President of the Bulgarian Society "Vasil Levski" in Shannon, which 10 years ago organized the first Bulgarian elections in Ireland, held far from Dublin. Now economic reasons have forced the polling station to move from Shannon to nearby Ennis, but Bulgarians know the area and do not miss the opportunity to vote. In Daniela Georgieva's words, the turnout is high because from afar our compatriots can best see the most pressing problems in the homeland and have the opportunity to compare the political system in the country they live in with the situation in Bulgaria.

"It's about time something happened. A country cannot be left to run on its own - Daniela Georgieva told Radio Bulgaria - And Bulgaria has a unique potential that should be used, not left to temporary solutions, without long-term plans, without visionary policy. It is high time the parties in Bulgaria put aside their egos, their narrow programs and platforms, and try to do something for the people. Even in Ireland, the two warring, oldest opposition parties have come together to have a government. They agreed to share the mandate and one leader was prime minister for half a term and the other is prime minister now, just to get things going.

When this happens in Bulgaria, then I will believe that our politicians have grown up and do not think first and foremost about themselves. Many of our voters have said that in a few months we will see them again at the next elections. This shows me that people are eager for change, but they are not hopeful that it will happen. I sincerely hope that the Bulgarian political elite is now ripe for the necessary compromise for the sake of the country."

Text: Gergana Mancheva

English version: Elizabeth Radkova