Bulgaria will hold a snap parliamentary election on Sunday, April 19, amid a political crisis in which weak coalitions have failed to thrive and trust in democratic elections has waned. The election, the eighth in five years for the Black Sea nation of some 6.5 million people on the European Union’s southeastern frontier, comes following the resignation of the previous government in December, following weeks of anticorruption protests. Here’s what we know about the upcoming polls: The snap election was announced by former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in January after leading parties refused a mandate to replace the last government, which resigned amid widespread protests against corruption.
Bulgaria has been racked by political instability for several years, with numerous governments proving unable to muster the support or unity necessary for political survival. Bulgaria has held seven national elections in the past four years – most recently in October 2024 – amid deep political and social divisions. The latest political crisis was triggered when Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced the resignation of his cabinet last December, minutes before parliament had been due to vote on a no-confidence motion.
Zhelyazkov resigned after weeks of street protests against endemic state corruption and a planned 2026 budget that would have increased social security contributions and some taxes in a bid to plug state financing shortfalls. Polls are expected to open at 7am local time ( ) and close by 8pm local time ( ). Citing a poll by Bulgarian research firm Alpha Research, the Bulgarian News Agency reported on Friday that more than 3.3 million people are expected at the polls, representing about 60 percent of eligible voters living in the country, compared with 2.57 million who voted in the last parliamentary elections in October 2024.
Alpha Research also reported that after eight elections in five years and unsuccessful coalitions, the prevailing attitude among Bulgarian citizens (49 percent) is that a single party should have a majority and bear full responsibility for governing. Conversely, just 33 percent believe that any government needs oversight and continue to support a coalition formula. Radev, a pro-Russian former fighter pilot and Bulgaria’s former president with the Progressive Bulgaria party, is running for prime minister in this election, as is former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov from the conservative centre-right GERB-UDF party.
Other major political parties contesting include Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria, Movement for Rights and Freedoms party (MRF), Vazrazhdane, BSP, Siyanie, Velichie, MECH, There Is Such a People and ARF. According to Alpha research, Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria is currently in the lead with the highest electoral support at 34.2 percent, followed by Borissov’s GERB–UDF with 19.5 percent. Other polls have predicted the pro-Western bloc, We Continue the Change, which is expected to come in third with 12-14 percent of the votes, is a possible coalition partner for Radev if he wins.
Radev has ruled out an alliance with GERB, run by Borissov, or with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms party, whose leader Delyan Peevski is the subject of US and UK sanctions for corruption. He added, however, that it is unclear how long any coalition can survive. Radev has cast himself as an opponent of the country’s “entrenched mafia” and its ties to high-ranking politicians, according to The .
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