Runoff between Yotova and Gyurov in Bulgarian presidential election amid record low turnout
Bulgaria’s presidential election is heading to a runoff on November 1 between incumbent Iliana Yotova and former interim prime minister Andrey Gyurov after a first round that saw no candidate secure the required majority and recorded historically low turnout.
The Bulgarian presidential election is heading to a runoff on November 1 between incumbent Iliana Yotova and former interim prime minister Andrey Gyurov, after the first round held today, Sunday, October 25, produced no candidate with the required majority, amid turnout described as the lowest ever.
Yotova leads by a narrow margin
A parallel count of votes at 100 percent carried out by a local polling agency showed Yotova and her running mate Kiril Valtchiev with 35 percent of the vote, versus 31.9 percent for Gyurov and his running mate Georgi Kandiev, while Renaissance party leader Kostadin Kostadinov came third with about 12.4 percent. Twenty-seven candidates competed in the round; winning outright in the first round requires obtaining a majority of the votes with turnout exceeding 50 percent of roughly 6.6 million registered voters.
Two opposing visions for Sofia's foreign relations
Yotova, 62, is supported by Progressive Bulgaria led by Prime Minister Rumen Radev and by the Socialist Party; she assumed the presidency in January 2026 after Radev resigned to run in parliamentary elections, and she advocates a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine and improved relations with Russia. Gyurov, a former deputy governor of the central bank, is backed by the pro-Western reform opposition parties; during his tenure as head of the caretaker government he signed a security cooperation agreement with Kyiv, and after the results he called on his rival to a debate.
Black Sea attacks and the cost of living cast a shadow over the campaign
The vote took place against growing economic difficulties, rising energy prices and inflation, alongside drone attacks that targeted commercial ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. The election is the first major test for Radev’s party since its parliamentary victory in April; if she wins, Yotova would become the first woman elected president of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian president is directly elected for a five-year term, serves as commander-in-chief and has the power to veto legislation and sign international treaties.
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