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With 91.7 percent of ballots counted, Progressive Bulgaria's share held at 44.7 percent, confirming an outright parliamentary majority — the first for a single formation in Bulgaria since a centre-right grouping won in 1997. The Kremlin said it was "impressed" by Radev's calls for pragmatic dialogue with Moscow. In a sharpening of his earlier pro-EU remarks, Radev told reporters that "Europe has fallen victim to its own ambition to be a moral leader in a world with new rules," signalling potential friction with Brussels despite his victory speech's conciliatory tone. The far-right Vazrazhdane party and the MRF, representing Turkish and Roma minorities, also confirmed their places in the new parliament.
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Early official results from Bulgaria's Central Election Committee, with 61 percent of ballots counted, show Progressive Bulgaria leading with 44.6 percent — consistent with the revised exit polls and putting the party on course to achieve what analysts are calling the biggest electoral win for a single party in Bulgaria's democratic history. PP-DB edged ahead of GERB in the partial count, with 14.3 percent to GERB's 13 percent — the centre-right party's worst-ever result since it emerged as Bulgaria's dominant political force in 2008. Renaissance cleared the four-percent threshold at around 5.1 percent, as did the DPS-New Beginning movement of oligarch Delyan Peevski at approximately 5 percent. Radev indicated he would be open to a coalition with PP-DB if needed, though he again sidestepped questions about whether he intends to become prime minister himself.
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In his victory speech, Radev pledged to build "a strong Bulgaria in a strong Europe" and said the country's main contribution to its European mission would be fostering "a new security architecture" and restoring industrial competitiveness — striking a notably pro-EU tone despite his reputation for pragmatic engagement with Moscow. He said voters "rejected the self-satisfaction and arrogance of old parties and did not fall prey to lies and manipulation." The election was triggered after the previous government attempted to push through a controversial budget last December, a move that sparked the mass protests Radev, then serving as president, publicly supported.
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An updated exit poll by Alpha Research revised Progressive Bulgaria's share upward to approximately 44–45 percent — a result that, if confirmed by official tallies expected Monday, would give Radev's party close to 130 seats in the 240-seat parliament and potentially allow him to govern without a coalition partner, something no Bulgarian party has achieved in roughly 30 years. The surge well outpaced pre-election opinion polls and has further crushed GERB and the pro-European PP-DB into a near-tie for second place at around 12–12.5 percent each. The pro-Russian Renaissance party, which won 13 percent in October 2024's election, collapsed to around 5 percent, while the ethnic Turkish party led by oligarch Delyan Peevski polled at roughly 8 percent. Radev said a minority government remained an option alongside coalition talks, while Borisov acknowledged on Facebook that "negotiations will decide who governs."
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Exit polls show voter turnout reached 43.4%, with six parties projected to clear the 4% threshold needed to enter parliament. The snap election follows the collapse of a conservative-led government after nationwide protests last December, which drew hundreds of thousands — predominantly young Bulgarians — to the streets demanding an independent judiciary and an end to widespread corruption. Radev's potential rise to power comes just days after Hungarian voters ousted Viktor Orbán, whose government had similarly cultivated close ties with Russia.
Bulgaria's eighth parliamentary election in five years appears to have produced a clear winner: Rumen Radev, the 62-year-old former president and ex-commander of the Bulgarian Air Force, whose left-wing Progressive Bulgaria coalition took roughly 37–39 percent of the vote according to exit polls released after polling stations closed on Sunday. The centre-right GERB party of three-time former prime minister Boyko Borisov came in a distant second, with around 15–16 percent, followed by the liberal pro-European alliance Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) at approximately 14 percent.
Despite the commanding lead, Radev will almost certainly need a coalition partner to form a stable government — a challenge that has repeatedly defeated Bulgarian politicians in recent years. The Turkish minority party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS-New Beginning), led by the controversial oligarch Delyan Peevski — who has been sanctioned for corruption by both the United States and the United Kingdom — finished fourth, while the radical pro-Russian Vazrazhdane (Renaissance) party placed fifth with around five percent. The Bulgarian Socialist Party was hovering near the parliamentary threshold. After casting his ballot, Radev framed the vote as a
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