The party of Bulgaria’s pro-Russian former president, Rumen Radev, is expected to win parliamentary elections on Sunday (19), according to exit polls, after a campaign that promised to eradicate corruption and end a spiral of weak and ephemeral governments.
However, in the current scenario, he will need coalition partners to form a majority government.
The exit poll conducted by Sofia-based Alpha Research showed Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party with 37.5%, far ahead of the GERB party led by former prime minister Boyko Borissov, which came in second with 16.2%.
Radev, a eurosceptic former fighter pilot who opposes military support for Ukraine’s war effort against Moscow, resigned as president in January to run in the elections, which come after mass protests forced the previous government out of office in December.
of about 6.5 million inhabitants, where voters are tired of repeated early elections and a small group of veteran politicians widely seen as corrupt.
