According to early exit polls, the Progressive Bulgaria Party led by former President Rumen Radev has taken a strong lead after the parliamentary elections held on Sunday.
The party has garnered around 37% support, more than double that of its nearest rivals, the pro-EU GERB.
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.
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 combat 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”.
Borissov looked pessimistic as he cast his vote
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 well short of the predicted 20% mark, with GERB gaining just over 15% support.
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.
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.
Heavy turnout expected in Bulgaria
Polling stations will open at 7am local time (0400 GMT) and close 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 an EU and NATO member state. It joined the eurozone on 1 January, shortly after entering the border-free Schengen travel area.
Edited by: Sam Dusan Inayatullah