Victory certain for EU-skeptic Radev in critical Bulgarian election (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

Informal exit polls suggest that Rumen Radev has defeated Boyko Borissov by more than 20 points

Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has defeated former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov by 21 points in Bulgaria’s general election, according to preliminary exit polls.

With polling stations closed and the country’s embargo on exit polls lifted, Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria has won 37.5% of the vote, with Borissov’s GERB-SDS in second place with 16.2%, according to Alpha Research.

The election is the country’s eighth in five years, and is another flashpoint in the battle between pro-EU and sovereignist political forces in Europe. Borissov’s party is aligned with Brussels’ foreign policy, and he reassured voters on Sunday that his party gives “full support to Ukraine.” Radev has vowed to balance relations between East and West, promising to build a “modern European Bulgaria,” while developing “practical relations with Russia based on mutual respect.”

Radev, who opposes EU aid to Ukraine, has vowed to break the stranglehold of the “oligarchic mafia” on Bulgaria, but whoever wins on Sunday will likely have to form a coalition to reach a majority in Bulgaria’s National Assembly. 

Borissov is the country’s longest-serving prime minister, holding office between 2009 and 2021. Radev is a former fighter pilot who served as Bulgaria’s president between 2017 and 2026. The pair publicly clashed during their overlapping stint in power, with Radev backing the 2020 anti-corruption protests that led to Borissov’s downfall.

Just as it did in Hungary last weekend, and in France, Germany, Moldova, and Romania beforehand, the EU has activated its ‘Rapid Response System’ in Bulgaria. This suite of online censorship tools gives the European Commission the power to remove so-called “disinformation” from social media platforms during the election.

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