Pro-Russian former President Rumen Radev is certain to win Sunday’s general election, official results showed.
After 60% of ballots were counted, Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria Party received 44.6% of the vote.
The party’s performance is better than expected and it appears to be one of the largest parliamentary mandates for any party in recent years.
What about the other parties?
Progressive Bulgaria’s numbers put it far ahead of the pro-Europe We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition at 14.2%, and the long-dominant Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, or GERB party, led by former Prime Minister Boyko Borisovts, at 13%.
Radev told reporters earlier on Sunday that he was willing to work with the PP-DB camp to win a majority, but was also open to a minority government.
“We are ready to consider various options so that Bulgaria can have a regular and stable government,” he said on Sunday.
What to know about Bulgaria’s eighth general election
The snap vote followed the resignation of the Conservative-led government amid nationwide anti-corruption protests last December.
Bulgaria, the EU’s poorest member, has been in the grip of a political crisis since 2021, when the conservative government of Boyko Borissov was toppled amid anti-corruption rallies. Sunday’s vote is the eighth election in five years. Many are hopeful that the outcome will end the country’s long-running political impasse.
“We will do everything possible to ensure that we are not allowed to go (to the polls) again. This is disastrous for Bulgaria,” Radev said after voting closed on Sunday.
Who is Rumen Radev, the front-runner in Bulgaria’s elections?
Progressive Bulgaria, a newly formed centre-left group led by former President Rumen Radev, was seen as the likely winner before the vote, although it was also projected to fall short of an absolute majority.
After casting his ballot on Sunday, Radev, 62, urged others to vote, saying mass voting was “the only way to drown vote-buying in the sea of free votes.”
Radev, a former air force general who was Bulgaria’s president for nine years before stepping down in January to run in elections, has pledged to fight the “oligarchic governance model” in the country.
He has also advocated for Bulgaria to renew ties with Russia, while also criticizing sending military aid to Ukraine as it fights an ongoing invasion by Moscow’s troops.
However, he has officially condemned Russia’s aggression and said that if elected he would not use his country’s veto to block EU aid to Kiev.
Radev also opposes the EU’s green energy policy, which he considers naive “in a world without rules”.
Borisov, who was pessimistic when casting his vote, later changed his tune
Opinion polls have shown that Borissov’s pro-European GERB party, which led the previous government, is likely to come in second place, ahead of the liberal PP-DB. Initial exit polls showed results less than the predicted 20% points, with GERB gaining around 15% support.
Voting in Banksia, on the outskirts of Sofia, on Sunday, Borissov seemed less optimistic about his party’s prospects. He stressed that GERB would not join any coalition.
“I don’t see who we can form an alliance with,” Bulgaria’s national broadcaster quoted him as saying. The former prime minister said his party would serve as a constructive opposition and participate in issues related to geopolitics such as national defence.
However, later on Sunday he appeared more confident despite his party’s setback.
The GERB leader said, “Winning elections is one thing; governing is quite another. Elections decide who is in first place, but negotiations will decide who will govern. GERB can go into government and into opposition. And in politics, as in life, patience is needed.”
Borissov has served three terms as Prime Minister of Bulgaria. During the campaign, he highlighted the record of his GERB party, saying that this year it had “fulfilled the dream of the 1990s”, among other things, by admitting Bulgaria into the Eurozone.
New course for EU and NATO members?
Polling stations opened at 7am local time (0400 GMT) and closed at 8pm local time (1700 GMT), with turnout expected to be as high as 6.5 million in the Balkan country after only 39% participation in the 2024 election.
As of 4 p.m. local time, nationwide turnout had reached about 35%, according to election officials.
Preliminary results are expected on Monday.
Bulgaria is a member of both the European Union and NATO. It joined the eurozone on 1 January, shortly after entering the border-free Schengen travel area.
Edited by: Sean Sinico and Wesley Dockery