Bulgaria’s ex-president Rumen Radev, an EU critic who has called for renewing ties with Russia, hailed a "victory of hope" after his coalition topped the eighth parliamentary elections in five years on Monday.
With almost 99% of the votes counted by Monday afternoon, the Central Electoral Commission put Radev's Progressive Bulgaria (PB) party in the lead, securing close to 45% of the votes, an absolute majority of at least 132 seats in the 240-seat parliament.
