Presidential Runoff in Bulgaria: What Is at Stake?

On October 25, the first round of the presidential elections in Bulgaria took place. Incumbent President Iliana Yotova came first, supported by the governing Progressive Bulgaria party led by Prime Minister Rumen Radev. While she may have hoped for an absolute majority, with exit polls projecting 40%–47%, her result of 34.8% was considerably lower than expected. Her main challenger, Andrey Gyurov, a former caretaker prime minister supported by the pro-European opposition parties We Continue the Change (PP) and Democratic Bulgaria (DB), came a close second with 32%, compared to 26%–31% in the polls. The far right also gained slightly more ground than expected, with Vazrazhdane candidate Kostadin Kostadinov receiving 12.6%, compared to 10% in the polls. Turnout proved a historic low, with only 23% of eligible voters casting their ballots, compared to 38% in the first round of the 2021 presidential elections.

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