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.
The performance, exceeding opinion poll forecasts, is one of the strongest results for a single party in a generation and may end, for now, the chronic instability that led to eight elections in five years.
Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party had 44.7 per cent of the vote after 97.52 per cent of ballots were counted, suggesting it could rule alone, but he has not ruled out a coalition with a pro-European group or a smaller party.
Progressive Bulgaria’s tally put it far ahead of the pro-European We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition with 12.8 per cent and the long-dominant GERB party, led by former prime minister Boyko Borissov, at 13.4 per cent.
A Eurosceptic and former fighter pilot opposed to military support for Ukraine’s war effort against Moscow, Radev stepped down from Bulgaria’s largely ceremonial presidency in January to run in the parliamentary election after mass protests forced out the previous government in December.
He rode a wave of frustration with political instability in the Balkan nation of 6.5 million, where voters are sick of corruption and veteran parties that have dominated politics for decades.
“There is now an opportunity for the things people have been hoping to see change to actually become visible,” said Evelina Koleva, a manager at a digital marketing company in Sofia, the capital.
Both the European Union and Russia welcomed Radev’s victory.
In a social media post, Antonio Costa, the head of the European Council, which groups the EU’s national governments, wrote: “Congratulations to Rumen Radev on your outright victory ... I look forward to working together with you in the #EUCO on our shared agenda for a prosperous, autonomous and secure Europe.”
The Kremlin said it was encouraged by Radev’s desire to resolve issues with Russia through pragmatic talks.
Radev’s campaign drew comparisons with Hungary’s pro-Kremlin former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán when he talked about improving ties with Moscow and resuming the free flow of Russian oil and gas into Europe.
Radev also criticised the European Union for relying too heavily on renewable energy.
However, Radev has been vague on policy, and it is not yet clear how much he will change foreign policy in Bulgaria, a Black Sea nation on the EU’s southeastern flank which joined the euro zone in January – a move Radev has criticised.
Analysts do not expect him to try to reverse Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro or to block wider EU aid packages to Ukraine.
On Sunday, Radev said he would be willing to work on judicial reform with PP-DB and that Bulgaria would “make efforts to continue on its European path”.
Ahead of Sunday’s vote, Bulgaria’s caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev said authorities had made progress in tackling election fraud, with more than 400 people detained on suspicion of vote buying and other malpractices – up from 72 arrests for similar crimes at the last election in 2024.
Bulgaria has developed rapidly since the fall of communism in 1989 and joined the EU in 2007. Life expectancy has risen sharply, unemployment is the lowest in the EU, and the economy has greater safeguards since adopting the euro.
But it lags EU countries in other metrics.
The cost of living has become a particular issue since Bulgaria joined the euro. The previous government fell amid protests against a new budget proposing tax increases and higher social security contributions.
“The country’s main challenge is the economic crisis and the demographic crisis,” said Tihomir Bezlov, a senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy in Sofia.
“There do not seem to be many ideas in the winning camp on either of these issues.”