Iliana Iotova led Bulgaria’s presidential run-off on Sunday with 58 percent of the vote, according to several polling agencies’ counts. The answer to when is the presidential election was settled by that run-off, and official results were expected on Monday.
Andrey Gyurov trailed at about 38 percent. Gyurov said, “This is how the Bulgarian citizens have voted,” after the initial results, while exit polls put turnout at about 27 to 29 percent.
Iotova’s lead in Bulgaria
Iotova took over as acting president in January, then entered the run-off after last week’s first-round race drew a record-low turnout of 23 percent. The presidency in Bulgaria is largely ceremonial, so the result affects the office’s political direction more than day-to-day government power.
That narrow power does not make the vote routine. Iotova’s campaign paired a call for “peace can come only through negotiations” with her pitch for “Bulgaria to be strong in a strong Europe” and “sovereign in its decisions.”
Gyurov, Russia, and Ukraine
Gyurov, who was backed by the pro-Western opposition, conceded after the initial results showed Iotova ahead. He also said in a television debate, “Russia must stop its aggression so that the next steps can be taken,” placing the vote in the wider argument over Russia and Ukraine.
Both candidates condemned the attacks off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast and called for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine. That overlap narrowed the visible divide in the campaign, even as the two candidates drew different lines on security and diplomacy.
Sofia voters and Monday totals
Krassimira Kostova, a 64-year-old teacher in Sofia, said, “I don’t like either of the two candidates,” but voted anyway. Petar Doitchinov, a retired engineer, also voted, one of the few readers of the run-off who still had to choose between the same two names after a low-turnout first round.
Ursula von der Leyen posted on X, “From security and defence to our competitiveness and energy independence, I look forward to continuing our joint work.” Monday’s official count was the only remaining number that could shift the final margin, but the initial tally already pointed to Iotova as the apparent winner.
