Video thumbnail for Bulgaria's pro-Russian former president takes strong lead

Bulgaria's pro-Russian former president takes strong lead

Apr 19, 2026
Bulgaria’s ex-president Rumen Radev is on course to win a parliamentary election, according to exit polls,  but may fall short of a governing majority. His Progressive Bulgaria coalition leads with, in a vote marked by low turnout and deep political instability, the country’s eighth election in five years. Radev warns another vote would be “a disaster,” as Bulgaria grapples with corruption, fragmentation, and its EU-Russia balancing act. Jean-Emile Jammine speaks with Renne Traicova, Managing board at the Balkan Free Media Initiative. 
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