Commentary
Democratic Security
Bulgaria Votes – Russia Hopes for a New Orbán
16 April 2026
The 19 April vote produced a result without precedent in the country’s recent history. We spoke with Spasimir Domaradzki, Visegrad Insight Fellow and assistant professor at the University of Warsaw, about where Bulgaria and Radev might be heading.
This article is based on the Visegrad Insight podcast episode with Domaradzki. Watch the full conversation on YouTube or listen on Spotify.
Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections saw Progressive Bulgaria (PB) win enough seats to form a government alone, ending five years of fractured coalitions and eight consecutive elections. The Bulgarian Socialist Party, one of the oldest political forces in the country, failed to enter parliament. The pro-Russian Revival party barely crossed the threshold. The number of parties in the National Assembly fell from nine to five.
‘Radev got a decisive win, but extremely fragile, because at least a third, if not half of his vote is the vote of the frustrated people endlessly hoping for a better reality’, Domaradzki notes. That fragility is the story behind the landslide.
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