On April 19, Bulgaria is holding snap parliamentary elections, the eighth in the past five years. This was reported by the BBC.
A total of 24 parties and coalitions are taking part, but the main frontrunner is the “Progressive Bulgaria” coalition led by former euroskeptic president Rumen Radev.
The coalition is projected to win 30-40% of the vote, even though it was hastily formed just a few weeks before the election. Radev himself left the post of president of Bulgaria only in January amid ongoing mass protests. At the time, media outlets noted that under the law this term in office was supposed to be his last, and suggested that he would want to create a new political party to take part in the parliamentary elections.
The BBC and Politico compare Rumen Radev to former Hungarian leader Viktor Orban because of his euroskepticism, refusal to impose sanctions on Moscow and provide aid packages to Kyiv, as well as his desire to “restore dialogue with Russia.”
As RBC notes, Bulgaria has been in a prolonged political crisis since 2020, leading to a series of early parliamentary elections and frequent changes of government. Since 2021, the country has mainly been governed by caretaker cabinets formed on a non-partisan basis.
Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic. The National Assembly, a unicameral parliament of 240 deputies, is the country’s key authority, passing laws and approving the government, the BBC reports.