SOFIA — Former President Rumen Radev's centre-left Progressive Bulgaria party was on course to win Bulgaria's parliamentary election held on Sunday, according to an exit poll published hours after voting closed. The poll, conducted by Sofia-based Alpha Research, showed Progressive Bulgaria winning 38.1 percent of the vote.

Former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov's conservative GERB was trailing in second place with 15.9 percent, while the reformist We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition was projected to finish third with 14.1 percent. Official results are not expected until Monday.

Bulgarians cast their ballots on Sunday for the eighth time in five years, following mass protests that led to the removal of the previous conservative government in December. The country has seen fragmented parliaments in recent years, with coalitions failing to last more than a year since 2021.

Radev stepped down from the presidency in January after nine years to launch his bid to become prime minister. He 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."

Speaking after the exit poll was released, Radev said he would be willing to work with the PP-DB coalition, but added that a minority government was also an option. "We will do everything possible not to allow us to go [to elections] again. It is ruinous for Bulgaria," he said. "We are ready to consider different options so that Bulgaria can have a regular and stable government," he added.

Borissov signaled that coalition talks would shape the outcome. "Elections decide who comes first, but negotiations will decide who governs," he wrote in a post on Facebook.

Radev has called for renewing ties with Moscow and criticized supplying Ukraine with weapons to fend off Russia's invasion. He opposed the 10-year defense agreement signed between Bulgaria and Ukraine in March.