Bulgaria holds Parliamentary Elections on 19 April 2026 with Progressive Bulgaria victory

Key facts

• The Progressive Bulgaria (PB) party emerged as the winner of Bulgaria's eighth parliamentary election in five years held on 19 April 2026.
• Rumen Radev, leader of the PB, will be the next prime minister of Bulgaria.
• The PB secured 44.7 per cent of the vote and is likely to secure approximately 130 of the 240 seats in parliament.
• The centre-right GERB party secured 13.4 per cent of the vote, and the reformist PP-DB coalition secured 12.7 per cent.
• Rumen Radev is a former air force commander who served as the president of Bulgaria for nearly a decade.
• Radev opposed a 10-year defence pact concluded between Bulgaria and Ukraine in March.
• European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen commented on Bulgaria's role as a member of the European family following the election.