Sofia, 20 April 2026 (dpa/MIA) - A political coalition led by Kremlin-friendly former president Rumen Radev has emerged as the clear winner in Bulgaria’s snap parliamentary election, according to near-final results.

With 97.5% of ballots counted, the Central Election Commission in Sofia said on Monday that Radev’s left-wing bloc Progressive Bulgaria (PB) secured 44.7% of the vote in Sunday’s election — likely enough for a parliamentary majority.

Trailing far behind are two pro-Western parties that previously governed.

The long-dominant conservative alliance GERB-SDS, which led a coalition government that resigned in December 2025, won around 13.4%, its worst result to date. The liberal bloc PP-DB came third with 12.8%.

PP-DB had called mass protests in December that ultimately forced the GERB-SDS-led government to step down. The two pro-Western groupings had governed together in 2023–24.

Five parties set to enter parliament

The ethnic Turkish minority party DPS, led by controversial businessman Delyan Peevski, cleared the 4% threshold with about 6.8%.

Peevski has been sanctioned by the United States and Britain over corruption allegations.

The nationalist, pro-Russian party Vazrazhdane (Revival) fell sharply to 4.3%, down from 13.3% in 2024. It remained unclear whether it would stay above the threshold once overseas votes are fully counted.

The Socialist Party (BSP), successor to the former communist party, failed to enter parliament for the first time since the end of communist rule in 1989, securing just under 3%.

Around 6.5 million citizens were eligible to vote. Bulgaria, a meber of EU and NATO, is currently governed by a caretaker administration.

Radev, a former fighter pilot, stepped down as president in January to run in the election.

Photo: epa