The Central Election Commission is expected to officially announce the final results of Bulgaria's parliamentary elections by Thursday, after all 31 Regional Election Commissions submit their original protocols in person and the final verification process is completed.
Although 100% of the sectional election commission protocols have already been processed, the results cannot yet be formally declared until the regional commissions complete their submissions. Only then will the CEC finalize the count and confirm the distribution of mandates in the 52nd National Assembly.
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The current data show that only five political formations will enter parliament, marking a significant reshaping of the political scene. One of the most notable developments is the sharp drop in support for GERB, with the coalition recording one of its weakest results in years.
The clear winner is ?Progressive Bulgaria,? which emerges as the first political force with 44.6% of the vote, backed by more than 1.4 million voters. The race for second place was much tighter, with GERB narrowly managing to stay ahead of ?We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria? (PP-DB).
GERB secured second position by a margin of just 0.8 percentage points, leaving PP-DB in third place with around 25,000 fewer votes. Fourth place went to DPS, while ?Revival? barely crossed the 4% threshold needed for parliamentary representation.
The nationalist party passed the barrier with only a 0.3 percentage-point lead, translating to support from around 138,000 voters. Several other parties failed to enter parliament, including MECH, ?Greatness,? and BSP, each of which received roughly 3% of the vote. The ?Alliance for Rights and Freedoms? performed even more poorly, collecting only about 1.6%.
The vote abroad produced a very different political picture. If only ballots cast outside Bulgaria were counted, the parliament would have six parties instead of five. In the overseas vote, ?Progressive Bulgaria? and PP-DB again rank first and second, but they are followed by DPS, Greatness, Revival, and only then GERB in sixth place.
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Another notable trend is the decline in protest voting through the ?I do not support anyone? option. During the October 2024 elections, around 80,000 voters selected that option, while this time the number has dropped to approximately 50,000, despite stronger voter turnout overall.
Election officials also reported delays in processing and submitting protocols from district commissions to the CEC. The main reason was the significantly higher turnout, combined with a large number of preference votes, which traditionally complicate and slow down the counting process.
In addition, many technical mistakes were found in the submitted protocols, despite previous efforts and incentives aimed at encouraging more accurate completion of election documentation.
The preliminary distribution of parliamentary seats shows ?Progressive Bulgaria? with 131 MPs, followed by GERB with 39, PP-DB with 37, DPS with 21, and Revival with 12 seats in the new legislature.
The final shape of the 52nd National Assembly will become fully clear by Sunday, when the names of all elected MPs are expected to be published. This includes candidates elected from two constituencies, who must first decide which district they will represent.
Only after that will the full composition of parliament be finalized, offering a clearer picture of how the next government may be formed and what the balance of power in Bulgaria's new legislature will look like.
