Bulgaria’s acting president, Iliana Iotova, has won the presidential runoff, near-final results showed Monday, according to the Straits Times. The result makes her the country’s first elected female head of state. Turnout was low.
The Iotova-Valchev ticket won 57.58% of the vote, about 1.1 million ballots, with 99.95% of precinct protocols processed, the Straits Times reported. Opponents Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev received 39.47%, about 749,500 votes. About 2.95% of voters chose the "I support no one" option.
Exit polls on Sunday had projected Iotova at between 50.7% and 52.5%, and Gyurov at between 43.4% and 44%, according to three polls cited by The Hindu. The sources do not explain why these projections differ from the near-final count.
Iotova became acting president in January after Radev resigned to enter the parliamentary race, which he won, the Straits Times reported.
Gyurov, a banker and former caretaker prime minister backed by the pro-Western opposition, criticised Iotova for not explicitly blaming Russia for the Black Sea attacks, according to The Hindu. Iotova favours dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine. She supports Bulgaria’s membership of the EU and NATO, and argues that peace can come only through negotiations, The Hindu reported.
Several vessels were struck in the Black Sea off Bulgaria in October, leaving 21 people missing, in suspected spillover from the Russia-Ukraine war, according to The Hindu. Bulgaria has historically been close to Russia and remains deeply divided over its relationship with Moscow, the same report said.
The first-round result has been reported differently. Straits Times, citing Reuters, said Iotova and Valchev took 34.6% in the first round on October 25, with Gyurov and Kandev on 32%. The Hindu, citing AFP, reported Iotova’s share as 35%, with Gyurov again on 32%. Both sources agree on Gyurov’s figure.
Several gaps remain. The results are near-final, and no certified final count appears in the sources. The sources include no response from Gyurov or Kandev to the result. No runoff turnout figure is given; The Hindu alone reported first-round turnout of 2%. Al Jazeera was available only as a headline and short excerpt, so it adds no further figures.
Final certified results are still to be confirmed. The sources do not say when Iotova will be sworn in as elected president or what specific steps she will take in office.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.