India, April 21 -- The center-left coalition of ex-president Rumen Radev has emerged as the clear winner of Bulgaria's parliamentary election, the country's central electoral commission said Monday, ending half a decade of political fragmentation.

With 96 per cent of the ballots counted by early Monday, results showed the Progressive Bulgaria coalition receiving 44.7 per cent of the vote, over 20 percentage points ahead of the center-right GERB party of veteran leader Boyko Borissov and the pro-Western reformist bloc led by the We Continue the Change party.

Both parties ran neck-to-neck, scoring 13.4 per cent and 12.9 per cent respectively. Two other parties also appear to have gained seats in the 240-seat chamber, according to the late...