Bulgaria is holding its eighth election in five years, with former president Rumen Radev's grouping anticipated to secure a victory on a platform of fighting corruption. The nation has been grappling with political instability since 2021, following large anti-corruption demonstrations. Radev, a former airforce general, has advocated for a reset in relations with Russia and has criticized sending military aid to Ukraine. Opinion polls indicate his center-left grouping, Progressive Bulgaria, could garner a significant portion of the vote, aiming to dismantle the country's 'oligarchic governance model.' The pro-European GERB party, led by former leader Boyko Borissov, is projected to come in second.
! Plus, enjoy an additional FREE RM10 when you sign up using code VERSAMM10 with a min. cash-in of RM100 today. T&Cs apply.SOFIA, April 19 — Bulgaria ns began heading to the polls in the eighth election in five years on Sunday with ex-president Rumen Radev ’s grouping expected to win on a pledge to fight corruption.
The European Union’s poorest member has been mired in a political crisis since 2021 when large anti-corruption rallies toppled the conservative government of long-time leader Boyko Borissov. Radev, a former airforce general who has advocated for renewing ties with Russia and slammed sending military aid to Ukraine, was president for nine years in the Balkan nation. He stepped down in January to lead newly formed centre-left grouping Progressive Bulgaria, with opinion polls before Sunday’s vote suggesting the bloc could gain 35 per cent of the vote. Radev has said he wants to rid the country of its “oligarchic governance model” and backed anti-corruption protests in late 2025 that brought down the conservative-backed government. “Radev’s cause is for Bulgaria to have a future. We have reached a point where we are questioning the very future of our own country,” Lazar Lazarov, a 28-year-old philosophy teacher, told AFP at Radev’s final campaign rally in Sofia earlier this week. “Radev has proven himself as president and as a statesman. He’s the one who is most acceptable for the EU, the United States, Russia and, if you like, even for China.” Borissov’s pro-European GERB party, which also led the last government, is likely to come second, according to opinion polls, with around 20 per cent, ahead of the liberal PP-DB. Polling stations opened at 7am local time , according to AFP journalists. They will close at 1700 GMT.Radev has slammed the EU’s green energy policy, which he considers naive “in a world without rules”, as well as any Bulgarian efforts to send arms to Ukraine battling a Russian invasion since 2022 though he has said he would not use his country’s veto to block Brussels’ decisions. Pushing for renewed ties with Russia, Radev denounced a 10-year defence agreement between Sofia and Kyiv that was signed last month, which earned him fresh accusations from his opponents of being too soft on Moscow. The ex-president also stoked dismay by screening images at his rally on Thursday of his meetings with world leaders including Russia’s Vladimir Putin. In a wave of outrage among pro-European voters on social media, hundreds of users shared a screenshot as proof that Radev sides with the Kremlin. At the event itself, however, in Bulgaria’s largest indoor arena, supporters received Radev with cheers, which he cut short with a military-style “at ease!” to laughter from the audience. “We need to close ranks,” he told some 10,000 supporters, presenting his party as non-corrupt “alternative to the perverse cartel of old-style parties”. Borissov, who headed the country virtually uninterrupted for close to a decade, has dismissed suggestions that Radev brings something “new”. At a rally of his party earlier this week, he insisted GERB had “fulfilled the dreams of the 1990s” with such achievements as the country joining the eurozone this year.Radev has vowed to avoid a coalition with GERB after the election and also ruled out cooperation with Delyan Peevski, heading the DPS party and sanctioned for corruption by the United States and Britain.A lack of trust in politics has affected voter turnout, which slumped to 39 per cent in the last election in 2024. But with Radev rallying voters, high turnout is expected, according to analyst Boryana Dimitrova from the Alpha Research polling institute. Political parties have called on Bulgarians to show up for the polls, also to curb the impact of vote buying. In recent weeks, police have seized more than one million euros in raids against vote buying in stepped-up operations.
Bulgaria Elections Corruption Rumen Radev Political Crisis
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