Bulgaria votes in presidential runoff after tight first round
The runoff pits a Moscow-friendly incumbent against a pro-Western challenger as record-low first-round turnout left the race too close to call.
- On Sunday, Bulgarians voted in a presidential runoff between Acting President Iliana Yotova and former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov amid economic concerns and regional security threats.
- Security concerns intensified following drone attacks on merchant ships off the Black Sea coast in the past month, with about two dozen seafarers feared dead and the government seeking allied maritime security support.
- Yotova would become Bulgaria's first elected female president if victorious, while Gyurov signed a security cooperation agreement with Kyiv during his time as premier.
- Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who backs Yotova, said the strikes outcome "benefits the Russian Federation," though both candidates have called for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine.
- Election officials expect results by Monday following the first round, which drew record low turnout of only 23 percent, as former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov rallied behind Gyurov.
193 Articles
193 Articles
<p>In Bulgaria, the second round of presidential elections continues: as is known Almost 6.6 million voters elect the president and vice president of Bulgaria. The first round was led by Illiana Yotova and Andriy Gurov</p>.
Bulgarian citizens went to the polls in the second round of the country's presidential election to elect a president and vice president from two electoral pairs.
In Bulgaria, after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, voters went to the polls for a second round. The election, between incumbent President Iliana Yotova and former interim Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, is taking place amid heightened security concerns stemming from attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea.
Bulgarian citizens are called to the polls on Sunday for the second round of presidential elections, in a close confrontation between the current president, Iliana Iotova, and the candidate supported by the pro-Western opposition, Andrei Ghiurov. The ballot takes place in a tense context, marked by the war in Ukraine, drone attacks on Black Sea commercial ships and the economic discontent of citizens.
Outgoing President Iliana Iotova came in the lead in the first round with 35% of the vote against 32% for her rival, the Europhile Andrey Gyurov, former interim Prime Minister. Poll forecasts promised her up to 20 points ahead.
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