Pro-Russian ex-president of Bulgaria claims victory in parliamentary elections. His party could win an absolute majority

The party of former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev is leading in the parliamentary elections. Radev himself has already declared victory.

The voting results are published by the Central Election Commission of Bulgaria.

With 91.68% of the votes counted, Radevʼs “Progressive Bulgaria” party is now in first place with 44.7% (1.3 million votes). The Guardian notes that the party could win an absolute majority with at least 129 seats in the 240-seat parliament.

Also, the 4% threshold required to enter parliament was overcome by the following political forces: GERB-SDS (13.4%), the coalition "Continuing Changes — Democratic Bulgaria" (13.2%), "Movement for Rights and Freedoms" (6.2%), "Renaissance" (4.4%).

Radev has closer ties to Russia than any other Bulgarian prime minister in recent years, the FT writes. During his time as president, he reluctantly condemned Moscowʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine, criticized EU sanctions and opposed Bulgariaʼs entry into the eurozone.

• These are the eighth parliamentary elections in Bulgaria in five years. In December 2025, the government of then Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned due to mass protests in the country: citizens were dissatisfied with the 2026 budget and the planned transition to the euro.
• President Radev subsequently resigned and formed his own political party to run in parliamentary elections. Radev was elected President of Bulgaria in 2016 and was re-elected in 2021. In his position, he repeatedly opposed arms supplies to Ukraine and blocked sanctions against Russia. In particular, in December 2023, Radev vetoed the parliamentʼs decision to provide Ukraine with 100 decommissioned armored personnel carriers free of charge.

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