Overview
- Official results published Monday confirm Progressive Bulgaria won 44.59% and is projected to take about 130 of 240 seats, putting Rumen Radev on track to become prime minister.
- GERB-SDS fell to roughly 13% and the PP-DB bloc to about 12.6%, with DPS near 7.1% and the Revival party around 4.2%, shaping a new parliament where Radev still needs partners for any two‑thirds measures.
- The Kremlin welcomed Radev’s stated interest in closer ties with Moscow, while European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she looks forward to working with Bulgaria as a committed EU member.
- Analysts say Radev’s opposition to sending arms to Ukraine and his call for more ‘practical’ relations with Russia could test Bulgaria’s stance inside the EU and NATO.
- The vote was the eighth parliamentary election in five years, turnout was the highest since 2021, and police said they seized more than €1 million in anti–vote-buying raids and detained hundreds of suspects.