Former president Radev runs top at Bulgaria parliamentary vote

Bulgarian ex-president Rumen Radev, who has called for renewing ties with Russia, hailed a victory of hope after his coalition topped the eighth parliamentary elections in five years on Monday.

More than 60 percent, 60.79%, of the vote has been counted, according to the Central Electoral Commission official results website, putting Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria (PB) in the lead with some 44 percent, 44.58%, of the votes. It is an absolute majority of at least 132 seats in the 240-seat parliament.

The European Union’s poorest member has seen successive governments since 2021, when anti-graft rallies brought down the conservative administration of pro-European leader Boyko Borissov.

Radev, 62, who resigned earlier in this year after nine years as president, ran on a pledge to fight corruption.

PB came in well ahead of the liberal PP-DB coalition, which stood at 15 percent, and Borissov’s GERB party which had 13 percent, according to the electoral commission report.

“PB has won unequivocally a ‘victory of hope’ over distrust, a victory of freedom over fear,” Radev told reporters in Sofia. He said furthermore that Bulgaria would make every effort to continue on its European path.

“But believe me, a strong Bulgaria and a strong Europe need critical thinking and pragmatism. Europe hzas fallen victim to its own ambition to be a moral leader in a world with new rules,” the former air force general added.

Radev has said that he wants to rid the Balkan nation of 6.5 million people of its “oligarchic governance model”.

He backed anti-corruption protests last year that brought down the latest conservative-backed government.

Borissov, who headed the country virtually uninterrupted for close to a decade, congratulated Radev earlier on Sunday but said that “winning elections is one thing, governing is another”.

Borissov has dismissed claims that Radev brings something new, while highlighting his own party’s extremely pro-European position, including support for Ukraine and the EU.

Radev, on the other hand, has called for practical relations with Russia, based on mutual respect and equal treatment.

He has criticised a 10-year defence agreement signed in last month between Bulgaria and Ukraine, which has been battling Russia’s full-scale invasion since 2022.

He has also opposed Bulgaria sending arms to Ukraine, though he uttered he would not use his country’s veto to block EU decisions.