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Bulgaria's pro-Russian former president takes strong lead in election, exit polls show
- On Sunday, April 19, 2026, an exit poll showed the Progressive Bulgaria coalition, led by former President Rumen Radev, winning 39.2% of the vote, ahead of the center-right GERB party led by Boyko Borissov, which captured 15.1%.
- Bulgaria's eighth parliamentary election in five years, this snap vote follows the resignation of a conservative-led government amid December's nationwide protests that drew hundreds of thousands of mainly young people.
- Radev, a 62-year-old former fighter pilot, resigned from the presidency in January to pursue the premiership, campaigning to "remove the corrupt, oligarchic model of governance from political power."
- Despite the lead, Radev faces an uphill task forming a government, as the coalition lacks a parliamentary majority while Trend research group exit polling indicates six parties may pass the 4% threshold.
- Radev's supporters remain divided between those seeking anti-corruption reforms and those backing his pro-Russian views, complicating Bulgaria's foreign policy alignment within Europe as the new government takes shape.
212 Articles
212 Articles
Bulgaria's Kremlin-friendly ex-president set for landslide election win
A pro-Russian former president, Rumen Radev, is set for a runaway victory in Bulgaria's election and may even secure a parliamentary majority, exit polls showed, potentially ending years of weak coalition governments and altering the European Union member's foreign policy.
The former general is close to 40% but cannot rule alone. And it's rebus coalitions.
According to an extrapolation, the alliance of ex-President Rumen Radew won the absolute majority in the parliamentary election in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria’s Kremlin-friendly ex-president wins election in landslide
Pro-Russian former President Rumen Radev has won Bulgaria’s parliamentary election by a landslide, official results showed on Monday, crushing long-dominant political forces and possibly pushing the EU and NATO member state closer to Moscow.
Bulgaria's pro-Russian ex-president wins parliamentary majority
Bulgarian ex-president Rumen Radev, an EU critic who has called for renewing ties with Russia, took an absolute majority in parliamentary elections that could spell an end to the country's half-decade of political uncertainty, according to near complete vote results on Monday.The European Union's poorest member has experienced eight votes since 2021, when anti-graft rallies...
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- 37% of the sources lean Left, 36% of the sources are Center
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