Bulgaria Presidential Election: Iotova Leads First Round With 34.6%, Runoff Against Gyurov Set for Nov. 1
The first round of Bulgaria's presidential election has concluded. With 95.29% of precinct protocols counted, the Central Election Commission reported that Iliana Iotova received 506,628 votes, or 34.598%, ahead of Andrey Gyurov with 469,143 votes, or 32.038%. The two will advance to a runoff on November 1. A total of 27 candidates contested the election.
Among the remaining candidates, Kostadin Kostadinov took 12.64%, Radostin Vasilev 4.6% and Ivelin Mihaylov 3.7%, while 64,668 voters — 4.4% — chose "I do not support any candidate." Turnout was a record low of about 22%; under Bulgaria's rules a first-round win requires both more than 50% of the vote and turnout above 50%, so no candidate qualified. Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said the vote took place peacefully, "without the usual practices of vote buying and vote manipulation." On the low turnout, Iotova said: "Thinking that we can change anything in the country without voting is an illusion."
Iotova, a former journalist and member of the European Parliament, served as vice president under President Rumen Radev and became president in January 2026 when Radev resigned to run for prime minister. Backed by Radev's Progressive Bulgaria and the Socialist Party, she favors dialogue with Russia. Gyurov, a former caretaker prime minister who supports arming Ukraine, has challenged Iotova to a public debate.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 保加利亚首都索非亚的亚历山大·涅夫斯基大教堂。The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria. Photo: Żyrafał, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
