Bulgaria's former President Radev wins parliamentary election
By Xinhua Published: Apr 20, 2026 09:21 PM
The Progressive Bulgaria coalition, led by former President Rumen Radev, won 44.594 percent of the vote in the country's parliamentary elections, according to data from 100 percent of precinct election commission protocols released on Monday.
According to the data published on the Central Election Commission (CEC) website, the GERB-UDF coalition came second with 13.387 percent, followed by the We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition with 12.618 percent, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) with 7.120 percent, and the Revival party with 4.257 percent.
Other parties and coalitions that took part in Sunday's elections failed to pass the 4 percent threshold required to enter the 240-seat parliament.
After verifying and analyzing all protocols, the CEC is expected to announce the official results, including seat distribution, by April 23.
Meanwhile, a seat projection calculator published on the website of Dnevnik newspaper suggests that Progressive Bulgaria could secure 130 seats, followed by GERB-UDF with 39, PP-DB with 37, MRF with 21, and the Revival party with 13.
Under the constitution, the newly elected parliament must be convened for its first session by the president within one month of the election. The president will then task the largest parliamentary group with forming a government, which must be approved by a simple majority in parliament.
This marks Bulgaria's eighth parliamentary election in five years, following the resignation of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov's government in December 2025 amid mass protests over its economic policies and the subsequent failure of parliament to form a new cabinet.