2026 Bulgarian parliamentary election

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All 240 seats in the National Assembly 121 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	50.05%[citation needed] ( 11.24pp)
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– PB Rumen Radev[a] 43.91 131 New GERB–SDS Boyko Borisov 13.18 39 −27 PP–DB Nikolai Denkov[b] 12.42 37 +1 DPS Delyan Peevski 7.01 21 −8 Revival Kostadin Kostadinov 4.19 12 −21 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Results by constituency Prime Minister before Designated Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov (caretaker) Independent Rumen Radev PB

Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 19 April 2026 to elect 240 members of the National Assembly, caused by the resignation of the Zhelyazkov government on 11 December 2025 following protests. It was the country's eighth snap election since 2021 as a result of a political crisis.

Key issues during the campaign included corruption, the cost of living, and vote buying. The political scene was radically altered by the resignation of President Rumen Radev to enter parliamentary politics, forming the centre-left populist Progressive Bulgaria (PB) electoral coalition and vowing to dismantle the "oligarchic system". The pro-European conservative GERB–SDS and liberal PP–DB were the largest blocs seeking re-election.

PB obtained a landslide victory, with 43.9% of the vote and an outright majority of seats, which could end the five-year 2021 Bulgarian political crisis. Most other parties lost seats and nearly 20% of votes were wasted due to the electoral threshold. While PP–DB gained one seat compared to the previous election, GERB–SDS lost half of its support and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) had its weakest result since 1994. Moreover, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)-led BSP – United Left (BSP–OL) alliance failed to enter the National Assembly for the first time since its foundation in 1991. All far-right parties except for Revival (which lost 60% of its seats) fell below the threshold.

The October 2024 Bulgarian parliamentary election produced a minority government headed by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov (a member of GERB), comprising GERB–SDS, BSP–OL, and There is Such a People (ITN), with Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS), which split from DPS, supporting the government in confidence votes;^[1] however, as a result of a ruling by the Supreme Court of Cassation of Bulgaria in March 2025, Velichie entered the National Assembly, bringing down the coalition to exactly the minimum 121 seats compared to the 119 seats held by the opposition.^[2]

Following DPS – New Beginning (DPS–NN) leader Delyan Peevski's commitment to support the government in case the recalculation resulted in the loss of the government's majority, APS withdrew from the government in April 2025 because they refused to support a government with Peevski.^[3][4] The government survived a no-confidence vote days later due to Peevski's support, effectively creating a de facto confidence and supply agreement. In December 2025, the Zhelyazkov government resigned after weeks of protests against the 2026 budget and corruption within the government.^[5][6] On 18 February 2026, President Iliana Iotova appointed a caretaker government led by Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov and set a parliamentary election to be held on 19 April 2026.^[7][8][9]

The 240 members of the National Assembly were elected by an open list and proportional representation system from 31 multi-member constituencies ranging in size from four to nineteen seats. The electoral threshold was 4% for all parties or electoral coalitions, with seats allocated according to the largest remainder method using a Hare quota.^[10][11][12]

There were nine political party groups represented in the 51st National Assembly.^[13]

There were 24 official parties and coalitions that registered lists for the Bulgarian parliamentary election and were present on the ballot for the election.^[14]

In January 2026, Radev resigned as President of Bulgaria,^[15] forming Progressive Bulgaria (PB), a centre-left coalition,^[16] to contest the election. Among the significant issues of Bulgaria that were key to the campaign were a cost of living crisis, as well as corruption and vote buying, as Radev supported the anti-corruption protests and promised to get rid of the "oligarchic governance model".^[17][18][19] At campaign rallies, he vowed to "remove the corrupt, oligarchic model of governance from political power."^[17][18][19] Radev launched the electoral programme of PB on 19 March,^[20] the eve of the beginning of the official campaign period.^[21] In Radev's speech, he vowed to dismantle the oligarchic system that controlled state institution and pledged to prevent oligarchs from accessing public finance, promising to free the private sector from racketeering.^[20] 4,786 candidates, of whom 3,347 men and 1,439 women, ran for the National Assembly.^[21] According to preliminary data from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), a total of 6,641,768 Bulgarian citizens were eligible to vote.^[21]

The campaign period was dominated with a crackdown on vote buying, with an initial police operation taking place in Haskovo on 18 March resulting in the arrest of three people.^[22] Caretaker interior minister Emil Dechev [bg] stated on 26 March that breaches of election law were between 500% to 600% up compared with the same period before the October 2024 parliamentary election.^[23] Further arrests relating to vote buying took place, with a 53-year-old man being arrested on 8 April who was in possession of more than €40,000 and two people being arrested on 9 April who were in possession of €88,720.^[24] By 14 April, more than €1 million had been confiscated in operations against vote buying by police.^[25] Caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov warned on 15 April that a scheme to buy votes using counterfeit euro banknotes was being prepared.^[26] A routine stop on 16 April upon a candidate driving a car resulted in the reveal of lists of names alongside a sum of euro banknotes, while a police operation upon four addresses on 17 April in Varna resulted in a seizure of €200,000.^[27] After the campaign period concluded on 17 April,^[21] election silence was imposed from 18 April to election day on 19 April.^[28] The Ministry of Interior revealed after the closure of polls on 19 April that DPS and GERB–SDS ranked first and second in official reports of vote buying, respectively generating 631 and 318 reports.^[29][30][31]

Local regression of polls conducted, excluding "none of the above"

Colour key

  Exit poll

PB was the largest party with 44.6% of the vote, followed by GERB/SDS with 13.3%, PP–DP with 12.6%, DPS with 7.1%, and Revival with 4.3%.^[36][37] Among other main parties, MECh, Velichie, and BSP–OL respectively obtained 3.%, 3.1%, and 3.0%, narrowly below the 4% threshold.^[36][37] In terms of seats, PB obtained an absolute majority with 131 seats, followed by GERB/SDS with 39, PP–DP with 37, DPS with 21, and Revival with 12.^[38] Although PB obtained a larger than expected win, the final polls were relatively accurate and within (or close to) the margin of error as Market Links, Alpha Research, Myara, Sova Harris, Trend, CAM, and Gallup respectively deviated by an average of 2.79%, 3.14%, 3.24%, 3.64%, 3.71%, 4.01%, and 4.83% from the election results.^[37]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Progressive Bulgaria	1,444,924	43.91	131	New
	GERB–SDS	433,755	13.18	39	−27
	We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria	408,845	12.42	37	+1
	Movement for Rights and Freedoms	230,693	7.01	21	−8
	Revival	137,940	4.19	12	−21
	Morality, Unity, Honour	104,506	3.18	0	–11
	Velichie	100,572	3.06	0	–10
	BSP – United Left	97,753	2.97	0	–19
	Siyanie	93,554	2.84	0	New
	Alliance for Rights and Freedoms	50,759	1.54	0	–19
	There is Such a People	23,861	0.73	0	–17
	Anti-Corruption Bloc	18,993	0.58	0	0
	Blue Bulgaria	18,640	0.57	0	0
	Bulgaria Can	17,263	0.52	0	0
	Direct Democracy [bg]	10,032	0.30	0	New
	Nation [bg]	9,804	0.30	0	New
	Movement of Non-Partisan Candidates [bg]	9,761	0.30	0	New
	Nepokorna Bulgaria	6,221	0.19	0	New
	People's Voice	4,666	0.14	0	New
	People's Party "Truth and Only the Truth" [bg]	4,392	0.13	0	0
	My Bulgaria	4,358	0.13	0	0
	Party of the Greens [bg]	3,026	0.09	0	0
	Resistance	1,897	0.06	0	New
	Third of March	1,840	0.06	0	New
	Independents	2,093	0.06	0	New
None of the above		50,732	1.54	–	–
Total		3,290,880	100.00	240	0
Registered voters/turnout		6,575,151	–
Source: Central Electoral Commission (votes) and NOVA (seats)

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2026)

As part of exit polling, Alpha Research released a demographic breakdown showing that PB won in every age group, including among the 18–30 years old, a group of voters that had became more politically engaged as part of the anti-establishment protests in late 2025.^[40]

Exit polls projected Radev's PB coalition to have won the election in a landslide with around 37–39% of the vote, with GERB–SDS falling to around 15% and PP–DB retaining its result of 13% from the last election.^[17][18][19] The status of some parties was unclear, in particular that of BSP–OL as they were expected to enter the National Assembly but were within the margin of error or just above the threshold. Among the far-right or right-wing populist parties, only Revival was expected to cross the 4% threshold needed to enter the parliament. The exit poll by Trend predicted a voter turnout of 43.4% and that six parties could pass the 4% threshold.^[17] An updated exit poll by Alpha Research showed that PB was first with 44%, significantly ahead of GERB–SDS at 12.5% and with a turnout of 47%, in what would mark "one of the strongest results by a single party in a generation, sideline a party that has ruled on and off for decades, and may see an end to the instability that has resulted in eight elections in five years."^[18]

With more than 60% of ballots counted, DPS was above the threshold while BSP–OL was not, with the CEC noting that PB had won about 45% and at least 132 seats, which was a majority in the 240-seat parliament.^[17][18][19] Final results were expected to be available by 20 April.^[18] As turnout exceeded 50%, higher than predicted by exit polls and the highest since April 2021,^[19] the electorate was seen as having voted in favour of politicians and parties promising significant changes and anti-corruption measures.^[41][42] In what was seen as a significant loss for Boyko Borisov and the centre-right coalition of GERB–SDS, which had dominated the 2010s, Radev claimed an "uncontested victory".^[41]

Radev's PB received 44% of the vote and won an outright majority of seats, the first time a party or alliance has had a majority in the National Assembly since 1997.^[43] GERB–SDS lost half of its support, receiving 13% of the vote, while PP–DB received 12% of the vote, barely changing its result from the last election.^[43] DPS, the Turkish minority party, had its weakest result since 1994, whilst their splinter party APS lost all 19 seats.^[36][37] Nearly all far-right or right-wing populist parties did not cross the 4% election threshold, including Velichie, ITN (a party that rose in prominence in the previous series of elections), and Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh), which were present in the previous National Assembly.^[36][37] The notable exception was Revival, which marginally crossed the threshold and lost more than half of its seats.^[43] The election also marked the first time in Bulgaria's modern history in which the BSP (the main political party behind Radev's rise to prominence and that supported his first presidential bid) failed to enter the National Assembly.^[43] Alongside GERB and ITN, the BSP was part of the previous governing coalition, with the electorate voting against these parties, all of which suffered significant losses.^[43]

Before an outright majority for PB was reached, analysts speculated on at least two possible options for a majority government, which would bring the country some stability after seven elections in five years,^[42] namely one with the pro-EU liberal reformists of PP–DB and one with BSP–OL and the nationalists.^[44] In his first remarks after the vote, Radev said that he could find common ground by looking in "one and the same direction" with pro-EU liberal reformists in order to promote anti-corruption and judicial reforms. More specifically, Radev said he was "ready to go with different options so Bulgaria can have a functional and stable government".^[44] Radev said that "Bulgaria will make efforts to continue its European path" and that "a strong Bulgaria and strong Europe" needed pragmatism because "Europe has fallen victim to its own ambition to be a moral leader in a world without rules."^[18]

Before results showed that his party had won an absolute majority, Radev said he was open to a minority government,^[45] and told Reuters that his coalition would do "everything possible not to allow us to go [to elections] again" as it was "ruinous for Bulgaria" and were ready to "consider different options so that Bulgaria can have a regular and stable government".^[19] As votes were being counted and confirmed an even larger PB's landslide win, Radev hailed it as a "victory of hope", further stating that "PB has won unequivocally – a victory of hope over distrust, a victory of freedom over fear".^[19] In turn, Borisov congratulated Radev, cautioning that "winning elections is one thing, governing is another".^[19] With 96% of votes counted and PB's landslide win, five parties were set to enter the National Assembly compared with nine of the previous election.^[43] As a result of PD's win, Radev is considered the Prime Minister-designate; a former President, he would enter a position that is considered more powerful.^[46]

• 2025–2026 Bulgarian protests
• 2026 Bulgarian presidential election
• 2026 elections in the European Union
• Corruption in Bulgaria