Presidential race in Bulgaria heads to runoff due to record low turnout
Low turnout below 40% set up a runoff between Iliana Yotova and Andrey Gyurov, with the campaign centered on Ukraine and Black Sea security.
- On Sunday, Bulgarians voted in a presidential election that ended inconclusively due to record low turnout, forcing a runoff on Nov. 1 between the two leading contenders.
- Incumbent President Iliana Yotova faces challenger Andrei Gyurov, representing starkly different visions on Ukraine and Russia. Yotova advocates for peace through negotiations, while Gyurov, a former caretaker prime minister, strongly supports Euro-Atlantic ties.
- Projections showed turnout below 40% of 6.6 million registered voters, far short of the 50% threshold required. Latest opinion polls gave Yotova 40% to 45% support, while Gyurov polled 25-30% in the first round.
- Bulgaria's president leads the armed forces, signs international treaties, and appoints ambassadors. The election serves as a significant test for Prime Minister Rumen Radev's Progressive Bulgaria party following its parliamentary victory.
- Campaign discussions centered on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and drone attacks in the Black Sea, heightening security concerns for the European Union and NATO member. The runoff outcome will shape Bulgaria's diplomatic stance on the conflict.
103 Articles
103 Articles
The current president of Bulgaria, Iliana Yotova is leading after the first round of presidential elections held today, and according to the data of several exit polls conducted for the Bulgarian media, Yotova won between 35 percent and 36.5 percent of the vote.
Presidential race in Bulgaria heads to run-off after record low turnout
The presidential election in Bulgaria on Sunday ended inconclusively, with the next head of state to be picked in a run-off, according to election officials. A record low turnout, attributed by observers to a general mistrust in politicians resulting in voter apathy, will pit two contrasting political visions against each other in a highly polarised contest on November 1. In a surprisingly strong performance, the candidate of the pro-Western ref…
The current President of Bulgaria, Iliana Yotova, and the candidate for Vice-President, Kiril Vilchev, take the lead in the election of the Head of State in the first round, as follows from the extrapoll of the Alpha Research Agency. On the count of votes by 20.00 msk Yotov and Yvlchev, they hold 35.3 per cent of the votes in the presidential election, and transmit to RIA News with reference to Bulgarian National Television. The second seat, acc…
CURRENT Bulgarian President Iliana Jotova won a narrow lead in the first round of Bulgaria's presidential election over former interim Prime Minister Andrei Gjurov, exit polls showed.
Exit polls show that the incumbent president, Iliana Yotova, and former prime minister, Andrei Giurov, will compete for the highest office in the country.
The second round of voting will decide who will become Bulgaria's president, as no candidate won more than half of the votes in Sunday's first round. According to an Alpha Research exit poll, incumbent President Iliana Yotova came in first with 35.3 percent of the vote. Her main challenger, former Prime Minister Andrei Gyurov, is closely behind her with 32.4 percent. Nationalist Kostadin Kostadonov came in third, with 12.6 percent of the vote.
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