Radev's Progressive Bulgaria coalition is polling at around 33-35% support, putting him nearly 10% ahead of Boyko Borissov's GERB party according to most surveys. The former president resigned in January to form his party and position himself as the man who would 'break the oligarchy,' surging to the top of the polls. Opinion polls before Sunday's vote suggested Radev's bloc could gain 35% of the vote, though polls show Radev leading Borissov 31% to 21% with neither close to a majority, leaving the winner to cobble together a coalition.
This election marks Bulgaria's eighth parliamentary election in five years, with no government surviving a full term during that period leading to chronic political instability. Public trust has evaporated, and voter turnout has been in chronic decline following several snap elections where the National Assembly failed to put together a long-lasting government since 'anti-corruption' parties made a breakthrough in April 2021. The country has been plagued by political instability since 2021, when three-time Prime Minister Boyko Borissov resigned following massive protests over corruption and injustice, according to multiple reports. Bulgaria is currently in a political crisis with no parties managing to form a government after two previous elections, and a transitional government has ruled the country since May.
I call for a more normal stance towards Russia.
The latest government collapse came after mass protests in late 2025, the largest in decades, fueled in part by the opposition alliance We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB). At the center of public anger were GERB leader Boyko Borissov and Delyan Peevski, a controversial figure sanctioned under the US Magnitsky Act. Critics accuse Borissov and Peevski of operating in tandem to consolidate control over the state. This frustration has set the stage for a bitter showdown between Boyko Borissov and Rumen Radev, according to multiple reports. Borissov is the veteran centre-right leader of GERB, pro-European but plagued by scandals, symbolizing the entrenched establishment, while Radev is the left-leaning former president who resigned in January to run for prime minister, campaigning to dismantle the oligarchy but with a softer stance on Moscow that alarms Western allies.
Radev has cast himself as an opponent of the country's entrenched mafia and its ties to high-ranking politicians, according to major media sources. Some voters hope Radev could end oligarchic corruption, while others support his Eurosceptic and pro-Russian views, according to multiple reports. Radev has advocated for renewing ties with Russia and opposes military aid to Ukraine, and he is considered friendly to Russia according to media analysis. According to Euronews, Rumen Radev described wanting to rid the country of its 'oligarchic governance model' and called his party a non-corrupt 'alternative to the perverse cartel of old-style parties.' Radev opposes any Bulgarian efforts to send arms to Ukraine but has said he would not use Bulgaria's veto to block Brussels' decisions, and he denounced a 10-year defence agreement between Bulgaria and Ukraine signed last month, drawing accusations of being too soft on Moscow.
Crimea is Russian regardless of what anyone claims.
Bulgaria has joined Schengen and adopted the euro, but citizens feel impoverished and ignored despite these European integrations. Eurostat data shows Bulgaria consistently ranks last in the EU by GDP per capita, at 68% of the EU average in 2025, according to multiple sources. Delays in reforms have slowed access to EU recovery funds, risking billions of euros in potential support for the struggling economy. According to Euronews, Rumen Radev described the EU's green energy policy as naive 'in a world without rules,' reflecting skepticism toward Brussels' initiatives.
Russia's war in Ukraine has exposed a stark fault line in Bulgarian society and politics, with Radev calling for a more normal stance toward Russia in his own words. Bulgaria requested EU assistance last month to counter Russian attempts to influence public opinion through social media and propaganda, according to major media reports. Radev believes that Crimea is Russian regardless of what anyone claims, as he stated directly, and he stoked outrage online for screening images at his final campaign rally of meetings with world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin, according to media accounts.
I want to rid the country of its 'oligarchic governance model'.
Recent election history reveals a pattern of government failures and low participation. Early parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 9 June 2024 to elect members of the National Assembly, coinciding 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, with voter turnout at 34%, the lowest 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, but the final of three government formation attempts failed on 5 August 2024.
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 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. 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, while 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.
The EU's green energy policy is naive 'in a world without rules'.
On 22 May 2023, the PP- and GERB-led alliances agreed to form a government with a rotational premiership, with Nikolai Denkov as Prime Minister for the first nine months and Mariya Gabriel as deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, switching after nine months. 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, leading to the current electoral cycle.
Election mechanics show potential for increased participation despite historical trends. Opinion polls predict Sunday's turnout to jump from an average of 35% to over 50%, according to major media sources. Polls forecast a surge in voter participation, with more than 3.3 million Bulgarians expected to cast ballots according to the Bulgarian News Agency. Voting will close at 1700 GMT, with exit polls expected immediately and preliminary results on Monday, and the turnout of people voting is high, over 45% according to reports. Borissov's GERB party is likely to come second with around 20%, ahead of the liberal PP-DB, according to polling data.
My party is a non-corrupt 'alternative to the perverse cartel of old-style parties'.
Just weeks before the vote, authorities detained over 200 people for electoral coercion, with tactics like tricking individuals into believing state-funded benefits were personal gifts from politicians, according to multiple reports. The exact details of these alleged coercion tactics and the legal status of those detained remain unclear as investigations continue.
Bulgaria is an EU and NATO member with a population of 6.5 million, according to major media sources. Radev served as president for nine years in Bulgaria before resigning to pursue the prime minister's office, according to media accounts.
Radev brings nothing 'new'.
The early elections have left a result with strong political impact in Europe, with former President Rumen Radev emerging as the winner in exit polls, according to multiple reports. Sunday's election will determine whether Bulgaria can address deep structural problems and rebuild public trust, though the specific coalition partners Radev is likely to work with if he wins remain uncertain. According to Euronews, Boyko Borissov described Radev as bringing nothing 'new' to Bulgarian politics, highlighting the contentious nature of the race.
Several key unknowns persist as Bulgarians head to the polls. The exact date of the upcoming parliamentary election is disputed, with some sources indicating it is on Sunday, April 19, while others reference November 14, creating confusion about the current political timeline. Similarly, there is disagreement over how many parliamentary elections have actually been held in Bulgaria in the past five years, with some counting eight and others seven inconclusive early elections, reflecting confusion about the scale of instability. The current voter turnout percentage will only become clear as results are tallied, and coalition negotiations will determine whether Radev can form a stable government if his lead holds.