Bulgaria held a snap parliamentary election on Sunday, 19 April, its eighth national vote in five years, after the previous government resigned in December 2024 following mass street protests over endemic corruption and an unpopular budget plan. Former president Rumen Radev, running for prime minister under the Progressive Bulgaria party, entered the contest as the frontrunner with roughly 34 percent support, campaigning on an anti-corruption platform but also facing scrutiny over his close ties to Moscow and his opposition to military aid for Ukraine. The outcome carries significant implications for the EU's southeastern frontier nation: a Radev-led government could strain relations with Brussels on foreign policy, while analysts warn that, regardless of who wins, forming a durable coalition remains the country's most pressing democratic challenge.