SOFIA, June 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Bulgaria's Socialist Party Sunday claimed victory in Saturday's general election, but admitted that the lack of majority votes would force it to form a coalition government with other parties.

    The party took 31.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg's center-right National Simeon II Movement (MNSII), which gained 20.67 percent, according to official results with 82.2 percent of votes counted.

    "We stand here as the winners of the most votes. We have secured a convincing victory over the MNSII," Socialist leader Sergey Stanishev announced here on Sunday.

    He expressed his willingness to lead a new government, declaring, "I have long said that I am a candidate for prime minister and I am ready to take that responsibility."

    However, as the number of votes does not guarantee an absolute majority, Stanishev's deputy Roumen Ovharov admitted: "The result is not good enough, we will face serious difficulties."

    Stanishev has expressed willingness to form a coalition government with rival parties and lead the new cabinet to revive domestic economy and push the country to join the European Union (EU) in the near future.

    He invited outgoing Prime Minister Saxe-Coburg, Bulgaria's former exiled king and other party leaders to join his cabinet.

    "We are ready to offer the rest of the democratic parties an opportunity to work together to go the rest of the way toward the European Union," Stanishev said.

    Facing doubts from local analysts and voters about the Socialists' ability to govern the country, especially to improve the country's economic situation, the young Socialist leader is eager to show that his party has changed.

    He promised that during his term, he will complete EU-required reforms, provide Bulgarians with "higher incomes, stable jobs and a socially responsible government."

    He will also rapidly raise people's living standards to preparethe nation for future price increases after Bulgaria successfully joins the EU, Stanishev pledged.

    The Socialists were elected during the 1994 general election, but had been blamed for the country's deepest economic crisis everand forced out of office within three years.

    The Socialist Party's major rival, current Prime Minister Saxe-Coburg and his MNSII party, however, refused to concede defeat.

    "There are tough negotiations ahead" as the votes have not beentotally counted yet, the prime minister said.

    Regarded as the best cabinet in recent years, Saxe-Coburg's government has led Bulgaria into NATO and to the threshold of the EU, boosted the country's economic growth rate to 6 percent and successfully cut down unemployment.

    Despite his achievements, failure to deliver on 2001 pledges tomake all Bulgarians wealthy in 800 days has angered voters. Bulgaria's 2004 per-capita GDP of 2,498 euros (2,998 US dollars) makes it second only to Turkey as the poorest EU member or candidate.

    Local analysts advised the two major parties to join hands and form "the only stable coalition possible."

    From an earlier counting of 64 percent of votes, the Muslim-minority party moved into third place with 9.54 percent of the vote, followed by a new nationalist formation, Attack, with 8.69 percent. Three other parties appeared to have secured the 4 percent needed to gain seats in the parliament.

    Voting in Bulgaria's general election started on Saturday morning and lasted till later in the afternoon. More than 6,000 candidates from 22 political parties and coalitions competed for the 240 seats in the unicameral parliament. Final results are expected late on Monday. Enditem