Radev's pro-Russian coalition wins an absolute majority in Bulgaria's parliamentary elections

Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, an EU critic who called for renewed ties with Russia, has won an absolute majority in parliamentary elections that could end the country's half-decade of political uncertainty, according to almost complete results released on Monday, UNN reports with reference to AFP.

Details

The poorest member of the European Union has experienced eight elections since 2021, when anti-corruption rallies toppled the conservative administration of long-time pro-European leader Boyko Borissov.

Radev, 62, who resigned earlier this year after nine years as president, ran in Sunday's vote promising to fight corruption, uniting a wide range of voters, with turnout being the highest since 2021.

Radev's coalition "Progressive Bulgaria" received about 44.7% of the votes in Sunday's election, according to official results, after more than 98% of the votes were counted, giving him a chance to win about 130 seats in the 240-seat parliament.

This convincing victory marks the first absolute parliamentary majority for a single entity in Bulgaria since 1997, when a center-right, pro-European coalition won, the publication reports.

Support for Borissov's GERB party fell to 13.4% of the vote, on par with the liberal coalition "ND-DB", which, according to the election commission's results, received 13.2%.

According to almost complete vote counts, the ultra-right party "Revival" and the Turkish and Roma minority party "DPS" also entered parliament.

As The Guardian notes, former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, who heads a left-wing pro-Russian coalition, will thus come to power after the eighth election in five years.

The FT indicates that Rumen Radev is called "Putin's Trojan horse in Europe."

What Radev said

"Bulgaria has won unequivocally – a victory of hope over distrust, a victory of freedom over fear," Radev told reporters outside his coalition's office in Sofia on Sunday as projections came in.

He said Bulgaria "will make every effort to continue its European path."

"But believe me, a strong Bulgaria and a strong Europe need critical thinking and pragmatism. Europe has become a victim of its own ambitions to be a moral leader in a world with new rules," added the former Air Force general.

Radev said he wants to rid the Balkan country of 6.5 million people of its "oligarchic model of governance."

Last year, he supported anti-corruption protests that toppled the last conservative-backed government.

While Radev can govern alone, the "real question" is whether he will take "real steps" against high-level corruption, including through judicial reforms, said political analyst Teodor Slavev.

For key judicial or constitutional changes, which require a two-thirds majority, he will need to find support in parliament from other parties.

Radev is expected to face "pressure" to lead Bulgaria on a "Eurosceptic" path, both from his own party and from the far-right opposition, according to Daniel Smilov, a political scientist at the Center for Liberal Strategies.

"His initial signals are that he will pursue pro-European policies and not block the EU... The whole question is whether these signals will actually be implemented," he told AFP.

What is Radev's position on Ukraine and Russia?

Ahead of the vote, Radev called for "practical relations with Russia, based on mutual respect and equal treatment."

He also criticized the 10-year defense agreement signed last month between Bulgaria and Ukraine, which has been fighting Russia's full-scale invasion since 2022.

And he opposes Bulgaria supplying weapons to Ukraine, although he said he would not use his country's veto to block EU decisions.

Borissov, who led the country almost continuously for nearly a decade, congratulated Radev earlier on Sunday, but insisted that "winning elections is one thing, and governing is quite another."

Borissov, 65, dismissed claims that Radev would bring anything "new," while emphasizing his party's "extremely pro-European stance," including support for Ukraine and the EU.

Political parties urged Bulgarians to vote to limit the effectiveness of vote buying.

In recent weeks, police have seized more than a million euros in raids against vote buying and detained hundreds of people, including local councilors and mayors.

Rumen Radev's pro-Russian party wins Bulgarian elections - exit poll19.04.26, 21:24 • 11039 views