Eight elections in five years – Bulgaria votes again

TT

Published 07.35

         

         Election poster for ex-president Rumen Radev ahead of Sunday's parliamentary elections in                         Bulgaria. Archive photo. Photo: Valentina Petrova/AP/TT

For the eighth time in five years, Bulgaria is holding parliamentary elections – now with the former president as the favorite.

The former fighter pilot and general Rumen Radev served as president of Bulgaria from 2017 until January and has seen countless prime ministers come and go.

Now he is trying to win the post himself, which has had seven different holders in the 2020s alone.

Radev's newly founded Progressive Bulgaria party is expected to be the largest party in today's new elections, after promises to fight corruption and powerful oligarchs. Over the years, he has also advocated for better relations with Russia, which has raised questions about what political line he actually wants to pursue.

“He is casting a wide political net to capture voters from both the left and the right,” analyst Boriana Dimitrova told the news site Politico Europe.