The key facts

  • Yotova and Valchev received 34.759%, Gyurov and Kandev 31.953%, with 99.95% of protocols processed
  • Turnout was about 22%; 4.4% chose the option 'I do not support any candidate'
  • The runoff will be held on November 1; final first-round results are expected on Tuesday

Yotova leads, but without a first-round victory

Incumbent Bulgarian President Iliana Yotova is slightly ahead of her rivals after the first round of the presidential election held on Sunday. According to preliminary data from the Central Election Commission released on Monday, Yotova and her running mate for vice president, Kiril Valchev, received 34.759% of the vote. In second place are former Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov and his running mate Georgi Kandev, who received 31.953% of the vote.

Data and turnout

The processed data covered 99.95% of precinct commission protocols. About 4.4% of voters chose the option 'I do not support any candidate.' Since no candidate pair received more than half of the votes, a runoff will be held on November 1. Turnout was approximately 22%, according to the public broadcaster Bulgarian National Radio. This is Bulgaria's eighth presidential election since 1992. Participation was highest in the capital Sofia and lowest in Kardzhali Province, which is home to a large ethnic Turkish population. The commission is expected to announce the final results of the first round on Tuesday.

What's next

The outcome of the election will be decided in the runoff on November 1, where the two leading candidate pairs will face off, separated by less than three percentage points according to preliminary data. For Bulgarian voters, this means another round of voting just days after the first round. The final results are not yet known: the commission plans to announce them on Tuesday, and the final figures may be adjusted.