Exit poll shows former President Radev’s party set to win Bulgaria election

Radev’s Bulgaria" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="118564" data-entity-type="organization">Progressive Bulgaria party projected to win 38.1 percent of the vote in parliamentary election.Former President Rumen Radev’s centre-left Bulgaria" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="118564" data-entity-type="organization">Progressive Bulgaria party is on course to win the country’s parliamentary election, according to an exit poll published hours after voting closed.Bulgarians cast their ballots on Sunday for the eighth time in five years, after mass protests led to the removal of the previous conservative government in December.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3DRC government, M23 rebels commit to protect civilians, aid deliverieslist 2 of 3Israeli ministers celebrate re-establishment of Sa-Nur West Bank settlementlist 3 of 3Trump says US seized Iranian ship trying to get past blockade near Hormuzend of listWhile official results are not expected until Monday, an exit poll conducted by Sofia-based Alpha Research showed Bulgaria" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="118564" data-entity-type="organization">Progressive Bulgaria winning 38.1 percent of the vote, according to the Reuters news agency.Former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s conservative GERB was trailing in second place with 15.9 percent of the vote, the exit poll shows, while the reformist We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition was projected to finish third with 14.1 percent. Radev said he would be willing to work with them, but a minority government was also an option.Borissov wrote in a post on Facebook: “Elections decide who comes first, but negotiations will decide who governs.”Radev, a left-leaning eurosceptic, stepped down from the presidency in January, after nine years, to launch his bid to become prime minister. He had backed the anticorruption protests that saw hundreds of thousands of largely young people take to the streets in December, and promised to get rid of the “oligarchic governance model”.“We will do everything possible not to allow us to go [to elections] again. It is ruinous for Bulgaria,” Radev told reporters after the exit poll was released. “We are ready to consider different options so that Bulgaria can have a regular and stable government.”