International, Defence and Summits · 22 April 2026

Bulgaria Parliamentary Elections 2026: Progressive Bulgaria Party Wins

Exam-focused facts from the 22 April 2026 current affairs briefing.

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 PB and former president of Bulgaria, will be the next prime minister.
  • PB secured 44.7% of the vote and is likely to secure approximately 130 of the 240 seats in parliament.
  • The centre-right GERB party secured 13.4% of the vote, and the reformist PP-DB coalition secured 12.7%.
  • Rumen Radev, a former air force commander, has opposed providing military support to Ukraine and a 10-year defence pact concluded between Bulgaria and Ukraine in March.
  • The election was called after the cabinet of former Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced its resignation in December.
  • Bulgaria is a member state of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

View this story in the full daily briefing

Earlier coverage selected by topic similarity to help connect developments over time.

Hungarian General Election Results Sunday

Péter Magyar and the Tisza party won the Hungarian general election, ending the 16-year rule of Viktor Orbán. The Tisza party is on course to secure 138 seats out of the 199 seats in the Hungarian parliament.