Bulgaria's Pro-Russian Party Leads Exit Polls in Tight Parliamentary Election

AP

Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev.

The party led by Bulgaria’s pro-Russian former president Rumen Radev is projected to win Sunday’s parliamentary election, according to exit polls, after campaigning on pledges to tackle corruption and end years of unstable, short-lived governments. However, the results suggest the party would still need coalition partners to form a governing majority.

An exit poll conducted by Sofia-based Alpha Research shows Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria securing 37.5%, well ahead of the GERB party led by former prime minister Boyko Borissov, which is in second place with 16.2%.

Radev, a former fighter pilot who opposes military assistance to Ukraine in its war against Russia, resigned from the presidency in January to contest the election. The vote follows mass protests that led to the collapse of the previous government in December.

The election marks the eighth parliamentary vote in five years in the Balkan nation of around 6.5 million people, where public frustration has grown over repeated snap elections and a political landscape dominated by long-standing figures widely viewed as corrupt.

Source: Reuters



PUKMEDIA