Rumen Radev is expected to celebrate a clear election victory in Bulgaria.Image: keystone
According to projections, in the early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria there is an overwhelming majority for the electoral alliance of former head of state Rumen Radev.
April 20, 2026, 05:31April 20, 2026, 05:31
According to information from several opinion research institutes, the Progressive Bulgaria (PB) alliance of the ex-general, who is considered to be Russia-friendly, has up to 45 percent of the vote. According to the information, this would mean that his alliance would have an absolute majority with up to 140 MPs in the 240-seat parliament.
The official final result is expected by Thursday. According to the opinion research institute Alpha Research, voter turnout in what has now been the eighth parliamentary election since April 2021 was a good 51 percent – comparable to the parliamentary election in April of the breakthrough year 2021.
Radev promises a stable government
During the election campaign, Radev promised to give the EU and NATO country a stable government and to fight corruption. He is also aiming for a judicial reform, for which he needs a majority of 160 of the 240 parliamentarians to change the constitution. The new government’s priority task is likely to be the adoption of a state budget for 2026. Bulgaria introduced the euro at the beginning of the year, but was left without a new budget due to the government crisis. The budget for 2025 has been extended.
The pro-Western conservative alliance Gerb-SDS, which led a coalition government that resigned in December 2025, and the pro-European liberal-conservative association PP-DB are fighting for second place with 12 to 13 percent, according to pollsters. PP-DB called for mass demonstrations in December, which caused the then Gerb-SDS government to resign. Both pro-Western forces governed together in a coalition in 2023/2024. A maximum of five political forces are likely to enter the new parliament.
According to these projections, the nationalist pro-Russian party Vasrashdane (German: Rebirth) fell massively to around four percent (2024: 13.3 percent). It was initially unclear whether Vasrashdane would remain above the four percent barrier after the postal votes from abroad had been counted. In the European Parliament, Wasraschdane belongs to the same party family as the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Bulgarian Magyar – or “Bulgarian Orban”?
The fact that Radev was Russia-friendly as president and advocated for dialogue with Moscow raises questions about how he could position himself as head of government within the EU to support Ukraine. Radew’s alliance cannot yet be clearly positioned within the party spectrum.
The ex-general and former fighter jet pilot Radev resigned from the office of president in January in order to take part in the election. The potential voters of his Alliance Progressives Bulgaria can be located in the left-wing, nationalist and pro-Russian spectrum, writes the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in the country report on the election. During the election campaign, he did not take a clear position on Russia, but instead emphasized the protection of national interests within NATO and the EU.
When it comes to Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia, Radev takes the example of the winner of the parliamentary elections in Hungary, Peter Magyar. In a television interview, Radev said that if he became head of government, Bulgaria would not contribute financially to military aid to Ukraine, but would not block decisions on this at the EU level. The government that resigned in December 2025 had pursued a clearly pro-Ukrainian course, which the interim government continued.
However, Russian newspapers see Radev as the “Bulgarian Orban”. “If the party led by Radev wins, Bulgaria’s foreign policy course will change: Sofia will most likely become just as “uncomfortable” for Brussels as Budapest,” wrote the daily newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
The Fidesz government under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which was voted out in Hungary last week, was criticized for its proximity to Russia and the US government of President Donald Trump. She was also accused of corruption and the stagnating economy.
Radev wants a competitive Europe
Europe would have to restore its competitiveness and stop deindustrialization if we want “strategic autonomy” for Europe, Radev said on election night. Europe should also think very seriously about how it will guarantee its energy resources. Radev expects Europe to become much more pragmatic. (sda/dpa)