Bulgaria’s pro-Russia ex-president wins landslide polls

Pro-Russian former President Rumen Radev has won Bulgaria’s parliamentary election by a landslide, official results showed on Monday, crushing long-dominant political forces and possibly pushing the EU and Nato member state closer to Moscow.

The performance is one of the strongest results for a single party in a generation and may end, for now, the chronic instability that led to eight elections in five years. Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party had 44.7% of the vote after 97.5% of ballots were counted, suggesting it could rule alone. A former fighter pilot opposed to military support to Ukraine, Radev stepped down from Bulgaria’s ceremonial presidency in Jan to run in the parliamentary election after mass protests forced out the previous govt in Dec.