Former Bulgarian president Rumen Radev's centre-left party, Progressive Bulgaria, appears on course for an absolute majority in parliament, with early counts showing around 44% of the vote — enough to claim more than 120 of the 240 seats as only five parties cleared the electoral threshold. Radev, who resigned from the largely ceremonial presidency in January to contest the election, had led polls consistently since then and has pledged to tackle corruption and seek closer ties with Russia to help end the war in Ukraine. The vote was Bulgaria's eighth parliamentary election in five years, with turnout just under 50%, higher than in recent previous contests.