Bulgaria's Kremlin-friendly ex-president set for landslide election win

https://i.cbc.ca/ais/ec456d32-6ad1-479b-9175-56f692708fc7,1776658235888/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C285%2C5472%2C3078%29%3BResize%3D%28620%29" title="Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev speaks to journalists after casting his vote at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)" width="620" />

A pro-Russian former president, Rumen Radev, is set for a runaway victory in Bulgaria's election and may even secure a parliamentary majority, exit polls showed, potentially ending years of weak coalition governments and altering the European Union member's foreign policy.