Bulgaria held parliamentary elections on April 19, according to reports. Former president Rumen Radev's new party, Progressive Bulgaria, is leading in polls or exit polls. Polls show Radev leading his key rival, former prime minister Boyko Borissov, by about 10 percentage points or more. Radev's party leads with 33% support according to the latest polls, positioning him as a key power broker in what is expected to be another fragmented parliament.
Radev resigned as president in January, before the end of his second term, to form Progressive Bulgaria and run for prime minister. He is a former air force general and fighter pilot. Radev campaigns as an anti-corruption figure aiming to dismantle the oligarchy or 'mafia state'. At a campaign rally, Radev screened images of meetings with world leaders including Vladimir Putin, sources reported.
Radev calls for a more normal stance towards Russia.
Radev has pro-Russian views, opposes military aid to Ukraine, and advocates renewing ties with Russia, according to analysts. He denounced a defense agreement between Bulgaria and Ukraine signed last month. Radev said he would not use Bulgaria's veto to block EU decisions on Ukraine. Russia’s all-out war in Ukraine has exposed a stark fault line running through both society and the political class - one that continues to define the national conversation, observers note.
The election follows the resignation of a government in December 2025 amid nationwide anti-corruption protests, as previously reported. The protests in December 2025 were the largest in decades and initially sparked by a disputed draft budget. Bulgaria has experienced political instability since 2021, with no government surviving a full term and multiple early elections. The country has cycled through caretaker administrations, fragile coalitions and short-lived alliances that have often collapsed amid scandal, according to political analysts.
Radev believes that Crimea is Russian regardless of what anyone claims.
Boyko Borissov, leader of the GERB party, is a key rival and former prime minister associated with corruption scandals. Delyan Peevski, a controversial figure sanctioned under the US Magnitsky Act, is accused by critics of consolidating power with Borissov. The opposition alliance PP-DB helped drive the protests with a 'never again' vow after losing credibility, reports indicate.
Bulgaria's recent electoral history is marked by government formation failures. Early parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 9 June 2024 to elect members of the National Assembly. The election coincided with the European Parliament election on the same day. This parliamentary election was initially scheduled to be held before 12 June 2027; however, the planned rotation agreed to by GERB and PP–DB failed to materialise in March 2024, and no other government could be formed. GERB–SDS had the best results, winning nearly 24% of the vote and 68 seats, but it did not obtain a majority in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was 34%, which was the lowest turnout since the end of communist rule in 1989. The new elected 50th Parliament replaced the 49th Parliament, when all elected members were sworn in on 19 June 2024. The final of three government formation attempts failed on 5 August 2024.
Radev has said 'Crimea is Russian' and encouraged Ukraine 'to appeal for peace'.
Following several snap elections, the Bulgarian National Assembly had failed to put together a long-lasting government since 'anti-corruption' parties made a breakthrough in the April 2021 election. The 2023 election saw little change from 2022, with Boyko Borisov's centre-right GERB–SDS narrowly coming in first place, above the centrist PP–DB alliance. The far right Revival (VAZ) and the populist There is Such a People (ITN) made gains, with the latter re-entering the Assembly after it failed to reach the electoral threshold in 2022. On 22 May 2023, the PP- and GERB-led alliances agreed to form a government with a rotational premiership. Nikolai Denkov, PP's candidate, would be the Prime Minister for the first nine months of the government and Mariya Gabriel, the GERB candidate, would serve as deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister. After nine months, the two would switch positions. Denkov resigned in accordance with the rotation agreement on 5 March, to allow Gabriel to become the new Prime Minister. On 20 March 2024, the planned government rotation and signing of a renewed government failed due to disagreements between the two alliances on the cabinet and breaking.
On 9 August, the Bulgarian President as a consequence instead appointed Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva (Vice President of the Bulgarian National Audit Office) as the next caretaker prime minister. Grancharova-Kozhareva was granted ten days to form a proposal for the next caretaker government to be appointed on 20 August 2024, with the upcoming next parliamentary elections expected to be held on 20 October 2024. On 19 August, the proposed Grancharova-Kozhareva caretaker government however was rejected by the Bulgarian President, as he opposed the proposal to allow the controversial figure Kalin Stoyanov to continue as interior minister. On 27 August, the President instead issued a decree to appoint the Second Glavchev Government as the next caretaker government to replace the First Glavchev Government (with 17 out of 20 ministers being reappointed), and scheduled a new round of early parliamentary elections to be held on 27 October 2024.
Radev denies having a pro-Russian stance, calling his positions pro-Bulgarian and pro-European.
Amid this political dysfunction, Bulgaria has taken major steps forward in its European integration. The country joined the eurozone and Schengen area recently, but remains the EU's poorest member by GDP per capita. Bulgaria has, in this same period, taken major steps forward in its European integration - joining Schengen and adopting the euro - often without a functioning government or even a passed state budget, analysts note. However, Bulgaria has delayed reforms, slowing access to EU recovery funds.
The April election was marred by irregularities and concerns about foreign influence. Authorities conducted police raids and arrests for vote-buying before the election. Bulgaria requested EU assistance to counter Russian influence campaigns on social media. Some local officials tricked people into believing state benefits were personal gifts from politicians, leading to arrests for electoral coercion, according to reports.
Voter turnout is expected to be higher than in recent elections, with polls forecasting over 45-50%. However, public trust has all but evaporated, observers say. Voter turnout, once a barometer of democratic engagement, has entered a state of chronic decline, according to analysts.
Radev's coalition is not expected to gain a majority, requiring coalition partners. Radev opposes the EU's green energy policy as naive, sources report.
The election outcome will have significant implications for Bulgaria's future governance, particularly regarding its stance on Ukraine and domestic reforms.
Key unknowns following the election include the exact percentage of support for Radev's Progressive Bulgaria in the latest polls and the details of the defense agreement between Bulgaria and Ukraine that Radev denounced. The country now faces the challenge of forming a stable government after years of political paralysis.