The new Progressive Bulgaria coalition, created by former president Rumen Radev, won a decisive victory in Bulgaria’s parliamentary election held on April 19, 2026. According to preliminary data released on Monday morning, the alliance received about 44.7% of the vote and may secure more than 130 of 240 seats in parliament, giving it a chance to form a government without coalition partners.
Such a result is exceptional in Bulgarian politics: the last time a single force was able to govern alone was in 1997. Since 2021, the country had faced chronic instability, with eight parliamentary elections in five years.
The snap vote was triggered by a crisis over the 2026 budget, the first drafted after Bulgaria entered the eurozone on January 1. The cabinet proposed raising the dividend tax and social insurance contributions, saying the measures were needed to fund higher public-sector wages for more than 558,000 employees. The opposition described the plan as an attack on the middle class.
Against that backdrop, large protests took place in Sofia and other major cities, with young people mobilized through social media playing a visible role. Even after the bill was revised, demonstrations continued, and on December 11 the government of Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned.
The new parliament will also include GERB-SDS with 13.4%, PP-DB with 12.7%, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms with 6.9%, and the nationalist Revival party with 4.3%. After polls closed, Radev said voters had rejected the arrogance of the old parties and again promised to dismantle the “oligarchic model.”
According to opposition figures and experts, the campaign also unfolded amid concerns about foreign information interference. A report published before the election by Bulgaria’s Center for the Study of Democracy said the country remains one of the EU states most vulnerable to such threats.