Bulgaria’s Kremlin-friendly ex-president wins election in landslide result that could ​bring shift in foreign policy

NewsWorldEuropeBulgaria’s Kremlin-friendly ex-president wins election in landslide result that could ​bring shift in foreign policyThe performance, exceeding ⁠opinion poll forecasts, is one of the strongest results for a single party in a generation Edward McAllister Monday 20 April 2026 10:30 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2960944","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bulgaria-election-results-rumen-radev-b2960944.html","title":"Bulgaria’s Kremlin-friendly ex-president wins election in landslide result "}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-14308","index":0}Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev speaks to journalists after the polls closed in Sunday's election, in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 19, 2026 (AP)On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/news...