Iliana Iotova wins Bulgaria's presidential runoff with 57.6% to become the country's first elected female president

Iliana Iotova has been elected President of Bulgaria, the first woman elected to the post, after winning Sunday’s runoff with 57.6% of the vote, according to final results published by the Central Election Commission (CEC) on Monday 2 November.

With all polling station protocols processed as of 7:15am GMT on Monday, the ticket of Iotova and vice-presidential candidate Kiril Valchev received 1,093,852 votes (57.57%), while former caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov and his running mate Georgi Kandev received 750,251 votes (39.48%), Radio Bulgaria and Novinite reported, citing the CEC. A further 56,080 voters (2.95%) chose the option “I do not support anyone”.

Iotova won in 28 of Bulgaria’s 31 electoral districts, while Gyurov came first in two Sofia districts and in Kardzhali, Radio Bulgaria reported. Among Bulgarians voting abroad, Gyurov led with about 56% of the vote, according to Novinite. Turnout was about 27%, Radio Bulgaria reported; Novinite said the polling agency Trend’s parallel count put it at 27.5%.

What the candidates said

“From the very outset, we ran a positive campaign and did not allow ourselves to resort to the language of hatred and division. People have come to believe that dialogue can lead to good decisions,” Iotova said after polls closed, Radio Bulgaria reported. She thanked Prime Minister Rumen Radev and his Progressive Bulgaria party, along with the other parties that had backed her.

Gyurov conceded. “We accept the results as they stand, surprising as the discrepancy between the exit polls and the parallel vote count may be. Ultimately, this is how Bulgarian citizens have voted,” he said, according to Radio Bulgaria.

Radev said Bulgarians had “chosen the future over the past”, Radio Bulgaria reported.

Background

Iotova, 61, a former member of the European Parliament, became acting president in January after Radev resigned to run in, and win, a parliamentary election, Reuters reported. She previously served two terms as vice-president alongside Radev, 168 Chasa reported. Reuters said many political analysts considered Radev’s ticket in that election Kremlin-friendly; both Radev and Iotova have called for a diplomatic end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Gyurov had the support of pro-Western, reformist parties and signed a security cooperation agreement with Kyiv while he was caretaker prime minister, according to Reuters.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial role in Bulgaria, where parliament holds most decision-making powers, Reuters noted. Iotova is due to take office at the end of January, the Bulgarian newspaper 168 Chasa reported. In the first round on 25 October, Iotova’s ticket received 34.8% and Gyurov’s 32.0%, according to Novinite.

The vote came after a series of drone attacks in the past month on merchant ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, which have killed at least 24 seafarers, Reuters reported. Both candidates condemned the attacks.

See also: Bulgaria asks NATO for air defence help as allies prepare Black Sea meeting.