Bulgaria’s presidential election will go to a runoff on November 1 between incumbent Iliana Yotova and former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov after neither secured an outright majority in Sunday’s first round.
With 98.9% of ballots counted, Yotova led with 34.7%, while Gyurov followed at 31.98%, according to the Central Election Commission. Turnout was just 22.2%, far below the 50% threshold required for a first-round victory. Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the pro-Russian Revival party, finished third with 12.6%.
The narrow margin defied pre-election polls that had forecast a double-digit lead for Yotova, who is backed by Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria movement. Analysts attributed the low turnout to a failure by Progressive Bulgaria to mobilise its base, with sociologist Boryana Dimitrova of Alpha Research estimating Yotova received around 500,000 votes, compared to 1.4 million for the party in April’s parliamentary elections.
Gyurov, supported by pro-Western opposition groups, called for a public debate with Yotova ahead of the runoff. “We should both stand before the Bulgarian citizens in an open, honest, and civilised debate,” he said. Yotova, a former journalist and vice president, has advocated for dialogue with Russia and opposed military aid to Ukraine, while Gyurov has emphasised a pro-European, reformist agenda.
Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev reported no serious irregularities during the vote, with over 17,000 police officers deployed to secure polling stations. The runoff will decide whether Bulgaria, a NATO and EU member, maintains its current foreign policy course or shifts toward a more explicitly Western alignment.
