Sofia, BulgariaReuters —
Former pro-Russian President Rumen Radev is expected to win a landslide victory in Bulgaria’s general election, according to official results, ending years of weak coalition government and potentially sidelining long-dominant political forces.
The performance, which has outperformed opinion polls, is one of the strongest by a single party in a generation and may end, for now, the instability that has led to eight elections in five years.
Radev’s Bulgarian Progressive Party won 44.6% of the vote after 60% of votes were counted, suggesting it may rule alone in a strong minority government, although Radev has not ruled out a coalition with pro-European groups or smaller parties.
Progressive Bulgaria’s tally is significantly higher than the pro-European We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition’s 14.2% and the 13% of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s long-dominant party GERB.
“This is a victory of hope over disbelief, a victory of freedom over fear, and ultimately a victory of morality,” Radev said at a news conference late Sunday, a day before final election results were expected.
Radev, a Eurosceptic and former fighter pilot who opposed military aid to Ukraine’s war against Moscow, resigned as president in January to run in parliamentary elections after mass protests in December ousted the previous government.
He rode a wave of discontent over political instability in the Balkan nation of 6.5 million people. The country’s voters are tired of the corruption and veteran political parties that have dominated politics for decades.
“We now have a chance to see what people have been expecting to see change,” Evelina Koleva, a manager at a digital marketing company in the capital Sofia, told Reuters.
Radev’s camp drew comparisons with Hungary’s pro-Kremlin former prime minister, Viktor Orbán, when he spoke of improving relations with Russia and resuming the free flow of Russian oil and gas to Europe.
He also criticized the European Union for being overly dependent on renewable energy.
But Radev has been vague about policy, and it is not yet clear how much he will change the foreign policy of Bulgaria, a NATO member on the southeast side of the EU that joined the eurozone in January, a move that Radev has criticized.
He said on Sunday that he was ready to work with the PP-DB on judicial reform and that Bulgaria would “strive to continue on the European path.”
Bulgaria has developed rapidly since the fall of communism in 1989 and joined the European Union in 2007. Life expectancy has increased significantly, unemployment is the lowest in the EU and the economy has had greater safeguards in place since the introduction of the euro.
However, it lags behind EU countries on other indicators.
The cost of living has become a particular issue since Bulgaria joined the euro. The previous government collapsed amid protests over a new budget that proposed higher taxes and social security contributions.
“The country’s main challenges are the economic and demographic crisis,” said Tihomir Bezrov, a senior researcher at the Sofia Center for Democratic Research.
“The winning camp doesn’t seem to have many ideas on either issue.”
