Former President Rumen Radev Wins Bulgarian Parliamentary Election

Radev had stepped down after the previous coalition government, led by the center-right GERB party, was forced to resign following anti-corruption protests.

Rumen Radev, former Bulgarian president and leader of the Progressive Bulgaria coalition, speaks to reporters after the first exit polls at the parliamentary election, in Sofia, Bulgaria, on April 19, 2026. Reuters/Spasiyana Sergieva

Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, who has expressed Eurosceptic views and wants a thawing of relations between Europe and Russia, has won the Bulgarian parliamentary election, according to official results from the Central Election Commission (CEC) released on April 20.

The CEC said that with 100 percent of the votes counted from April 19’s parliamentary election, Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria gained 44.6 percent of the vote, according to the national Bulgarian News Agency.