Parliamentary elections held in Bulgaria: Radev’s pro-Russian party leads

Bulgaria held snap parliamentary elections on April 19, with the Progressive Bulgaria coalition led by Rumen Radev leading the way. According to exit polls, the political force is receiving over 37% of the vote and is ahead of its competitors.

This is reported by the BTA agency.

According to preliminary estimates by sociological services, the voting results indicate a significant advantage for Radev’s party, but this is not enough to form a sole majority in parliament.

According to exit polls, 6 political forces are entering parliament:

• “Progressive Bulgaria” — 37.5%–39.2%;
• GERB-UDF — 14.8%–16.2%;
• “Continuing Changes – Democratic Bulgaria” — 13.1%–14.3%;
• Movement for Rights and Freedoms — 7.5%–9.2%;
• “Vazrahdane” — 4.9%–5.3%;
• BSP – United Left — 4.0%–4.2%.

During his campaign, Rumen Radev spoke of the need to strengthen stability in the country and fight corruption. At the same time, he advocates restoring relations with Russia and opposes military support for Ukraine .

“I hope that we will develop practical relations with Russia based on mutual respect and equal treatment,” said Rumen Radev.

According to journalists, these elections were the eighth in the last 5 years and took place against a backdrop of political instability and the early resignation of the previous government.

Separately, the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported violations during the voting. As of the evening, 328 reports of possible violations had been recorded, with 26 investigations launched.

“The Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs received 328 signals about possible violations during the election process,” the department noted.

At the same time, there are reports of individual cases of possible voter fraud and bribery, which are being investigated by law enforcement agencies.

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