Ruse — Former President Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria has won the parliamentary elections by a landslide. With 96.41% of the votes counted, his new political movement is heading towards an absolute majority. This likely marks the end of five years of political impasse in Bulgaria.

Radev campaigned on combating poverty and inflation, and eradicating corruption and the ties between oligarchs and politics. In recent statements, he has called for “pragmatism” and “critical thinking” in the European stance towards Russia.

After the polls closed on Sunday evening, Progressive Bulgaria emerged as the largest party in the exit polls with around 39% of the projected vote — well ahead of challengers GERB, the reformist We Will Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria alliance (PP-DB), oligarch Delyan Peevski’s DPS, and the far-nationalist Vazrazhdane (“Resurrection”).

Previously, the center-right GERB of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov had categorically ruled out a coalition with his rival Radev. Now, a coalition seems unnecessary because, due to the four percent electoral threshold, only five parties will be represented in parliament. With 45% of the vote, Progressive Bulgaria has enough for a majority in the 240-seat National Assembly. For the first time in its history, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the predecessor of the Communist Party, failed to clear the electoral threshold.

The 62-year-old former fighter pilot was President of Bulgaria from 2017 until early 2026 — as an independent candidate but supported by the Bulgarian Socialist Party. In January, he stepped down to participate in the parliamentary elections. Although the presidency is largely a ceremonial function, the president does appoint governments. During his presidency, Radev appointed various interim cabinets with technocratic ministers, which, according to some observers, gave him unprecedented political power. Many of those former ministers ran as candidates for Progressive Bulgaria.

Turnout was around fifty percent, well above recent elections — a sign that Radev succeeded in mobilising the 6.5 million eligible Bulgarians with his message in what was already the eighth parliamentary election in five years.

‘This is a victory over apathy, but there is still distrust of politics here; this is only the first step,’ Radev said on Sunday evening. ‘It is a victory of hope over despair, of freedom over fear,’ he added. Once all votes have been counted and the results confirmed by the Constitutional Court, interim President Iliana Iotova will give the largest party, Progressive Bulgaria, a mandate to form a government. Radev evaded questions regarding whether he will become prime minister.