2026 Bulgarian parliamentary election

After seven snap elections, the National Assembly failed to form a long-term government as anti-corruption parties made a breakthrough in the April 2021 elections, which started the political crisis, which was further complicated by the entrance of far-right parties. The October 2024 Bulgarian parliamentary election produced a minority government headed by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov (a member of GERB), comprising GERB–SDS, BSP–OL, and There is Such a People (ITN), with Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS), which split from DPS as a result of a rift between two of the party's factions, supporting the government in confidence votes; however, as a result of a ruling by the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria in March 2025, the far-right Velichie entered the National Assembly, bringing down the coalition to exactly the minimum 121 seats compared to the 119 seats held by the opposition. Following DPS – New Beginning (DPS–NN) leader Delyan Peevski's commitment to support the government if the recalculation resulted in the loss of the government's majority, Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS) withdrew from the government in April 2025 because they refused to support a government with Peevski. Days later, the government survived a no-confidence vote due to Peevski's support, effectively creating a de facto confidence and supply agreement. Since taking office in January 2025, the Zhelyazkov government survived several no-confidence votes, bringing the total to five by September 2025. In December 2025, the Zhelyazkov government resigned after weeks of protests over the 2026 budget and corruption within the government. The Zhelyazkov government's primary commitment had been the country's entry into the eurozone in 2026, which it achieved in 2025 when Bulgaria had its final hurdles cleared and adopted the legal framework to make the entry possible. As President, Radev took a critical stance on adopting the eurozone and attempted to delay it by calling a referendum, a move described as illegal because the Constitutional Court had already clarified in 2024 that Bulgaria was obliged to adopt the euro by its European treaties that were ratified when it joined the EU. Radev's attempt was rejected by Nataliya Kiselova (the BSP–OL-supported Speaker of the National Assembly of Bulgaria), and the decision was upheld by the Constitutional Court, which Radev sharply criticised. After it was confirmed there would be new elections in 2026, the eighth election of the political crisis, Radev resigned as President to contest the elections, seeking to become Prime Minister and describing his political project as a "powerful political alternative" to return Bulgarians' trust in their state, with "clear rules for everyone". On 18 February 2026, President Iliana Iotova appointed a caretaker government led by Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, a former member of We Continue the Change (PP) who left PP and the parliament in 2023, and set a parliamentary election to be held on 19 April 2026. Gyurov's government had asked the EU for help to fight off interference from Russia ahead of the election, warning foreign actors were trying to manipulate public opinion through social media networks and propaganda websites. Radev responded by saying his party's likely success in the elections could trigger the "Romanian model", which would lead to annulled elections, such as in the 2024 Romanian presidential election, where a far-right candidate's first place finish in the first round was annulled by courts citing "foreign interference". == Electoral system ==

The 240 members of the National Assembly were elected by an open list and proportional representation system from 31 multi-member constituencies ranging in size from four to nineteen seats. The electoral threshold was 4% for all political parties or electoral coalitions, with seats allocated according to the largest remainder method using a Hare quota. == Political parties ==

Parliamentary parties There were nine political party groups represented in the 51st National Assembly. Contesting parties and coalitions There were 24 official parties and coalitions that registered lists for the Bulgarian parliamentary election and were present on the ballot for the election. == Campaign ==

In January 2026, Radev resigned as President of Bulgaria, forming Progressive Bulgaria (PB), a centre-left party, to contest the election. Among the significant issues of Bulgaria that were key to the campaign were a cost of living crisis, as well as corruption and vote buying, as Radev supported the anti-corruption protests and promised to get rid of the "oligarchic governance model". At campaign rallies, he vowed to "remove the corrupt, oligarchic model of governance from political power." the eve of the beginning of the official campaign period. In Radev's speech, he vowed to dismantle the oligarchic system that controlled state institution and pledged to prevent oligarchs from accessing public finance, promising to free the private sector from racketeering. On 26 March, the caretaker Minister of the Interior stated that breaches of election law were between 500% to 600% up compared with the same period before the October 2024 parliamentary election. Further arrests relating to vote buying took place, with a 53-year-old man being arrested on 8 April who was in possession of more than €40,000 and two people being arrested on 9 April who were in possession of €88,720. By 14 April, more than €1 million had been confiscated in operations against vote buying by police. Caretaker Prime Minister Gyurov warned on 15 April that a scheme to buy votes using counterfeit euro banknotes was being prepared. A routine stop on 16 April upon a candidate driving a car resulted in the reveal of lists of names alongside a sum of euro banknotes, while a police operation upon four addresses on 17 April in Varna resulted in a seizure of €200,000. After the campaign period concluded on 17 April, The Ministry of Interior revealed after the closure of polls on 19 April that DPS and GERB–SDS ranked first and second in official reports of vote buying, respectively generating 631 and 318 reports. == Opinion polls ==

. PB was the largest party with 44.6% of the vote, followed by GERB/SDS with 13.3%, PP–DP with 12.6%, DPS with 7.1%, and Revival with 4.3%. Among other main parties, MECh, Velichie, and BSP–OL respectively obtained 3.2%, 3.1%, and 3.0%, narrowly below the 4% threshold. Although PB obtained a larger than expected win, the final polls were relatively accurate and within (or close to) the margin of error as Market Links, Alpha Research, Myara, Sova Harris, Trend, CAM, and Gallup respectively deviated by an average of 2.79%, 3.14%, 3.24%, 3.64%, 3.71%, 4.01%, and 4.83% from the election results. Final turnout exit polls showed that it was respectively estimated at 51.3% by Market Links, 48.8% by Alpha Research, 48.5% by Myara, and 48.0% by Trend. == Aftermath ==

Exit polls Exit polls projected Radev's PB coalition to have won the election in a landslide with around 37–39% of the vote, with GERB–SDS falling to around 15% and PP–DB retaining its result of 13% from the last election. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić was among the first to congratulate Radev on his win. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa also congratulated Radev, with von der Leyen saying she was looking forward to working with Radev "for the prosperity and security" of Europe. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he would "look forward to continued cooperation on shared security challenges" with Radev. In his first remarks after the vote, Radev said that he could find common ground by looking in "one and the same direction" with pro-EU liberal reformists in order to promote anti-corruption and judicial reforms. More specifically, Radev said he was "ready to go with different options so Bulgaria can have a functional and stable government". Before results showed that his party had won an absolute majority, Radev said he was open to a minority government, and told Reuters that his coalition would do "everything possible not to allow us to go [to elections] again" as it was "ruinous for Bulgaria" and were ready to "consider different options so that Bulgaria can have a regular and stable government". a former President, he would enter a position that is considered more powerful. On 30 April, the first session of the newly elected 52nd National Assembly took place, electing Mihaela Dotsova from PB as speaker of the parliament. Subsequently, President Iliana Yotova held constitutionally-mandated consultations with all parliamentary groups on 5 May. == Analysis ==

National Assembly With more than 60% of ballots counted, DPS was above the threshold while BSP–OL was not, with the CEC noting that PB had won about 45% and at least 132 seats, which was a majority in the 240-seat parliament. Reflecting the electorate's call for changes, Evelina Koleva, a manager at a digital marketing company in Sofia, told Reuters: "There is now an opportunity for the things people have been hoping to see change to actually become visible." Addressing the cost of living, which was one of the election's key issues, Tihomir Bezlov, a senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy in Sofia, said: "The country's main challenge is the economic crisis and the demographic crisis ... There do not seem to be many ideas in the winning camp on either of these issues." Radev's PB received 44% of the vote and won an outright majority of seats, the first time a party or alliance has had a majority in the National Assembly since 1997. GERB–SDS lost half of its support, receiving 13% of the vote, while PP–DB received 12% of the vote, barely changing its result from the last election. Political scientist Svetlin Tachev argued that PP–DB would have received stronger support if Radev had not entered the electoral race. Comparisons to Eurosceptic and pro-Russian governments The Atlantic Council warned that a Radev-led government could "replace Hungary as Putin's proxy inside the EU and NATO", although it assessed that the influence would be "nowhere near that of Viktor Orbán, at least initially." It concluded that Radev's government would be bad news for Ukraine and would represent a significant win for Russia. Reuters reported that Radev's campaign drew comparisons with Orbán when he talked about improving ties with Moscow and resuming the free flow of Russian oil and gas into Europe. The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) published an analysis arguing that Radev would be closer to Fico than Orbán, is ready to criticise the European Commission, especially on the EU energy policy and the European Green Deal, and would be tough on EU's enlargement; however, it predicted that Radev would generally not try to block major EU decisions, such as on Ukraine, for fear of losing EU funds. NIN also compared Radev to Fico rather than Orbán. In an interview, MEP Radan Kanev said that Radev would be more likely to resemble Fico in "speaking one thing, [and] doing a different one." Al Jazeera English reported that Radev's stance on foreign policy had drawn attention in Europe, leading to a "pro-Russian" label as he objected to a defence pact concluded between Bulgaria and Ukraine in March and had called for the resumption of Russian imports to Europe despite EU sanctions on Russian oil. The BBC framed Radev as a "pragmatic, somewhat pro-Russian leader, who has criticised EU sanctions, and called for constructive dialogue with the Kremlin." The Guardian described Radev as Moscow-friendly and concluded that it could be bad for the EU. Emilia Zankina of Temple University Rome agreed, saying: "There is a great concern that he may try to steer the country away from its pro-European line." Bulgarian political expert Dimitar Bechev told Politico that the biggest question is "what a future coalition will look like" and that Radev has to make a choice on the rule of law, deciding whether to align with anti-corruption reformists or defend vested interests. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said that "almost nothing is known about his intentions, especially in the area of financial and fiscal policy." == See also ==