Bulgaria's presidential election goes to a runoff on November 1

The election goes to a runoff

Bulgaria's presidential election will continue to a runoff, as no candidate pair received more than 50% of the vote. According to unofficial results from the Alpha Research agency, released by Bulgarian National Television (BNT), incumbent President Iliana Iotova and her running mate Kiril Valchev received 34.6%,while former Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, with running mate Georgi Kandev, received 32.7%. Turnout was 22.5%. Data from another agency, Myara, give Iotova 35% and Gyurov 31.9%, with turnout at 22.2%. The runoff is scheduled for November 1.

Candidates' reactions

After the polls closed, Iotova expressed concern about the low turnout, thanking those who voted and her supporters. “To think that we can change anything in the country without voting is an illusion,”she said. According to her, the campaign will continue with renewed efforts to engage more decisively with all citizens, and Bulgaria needs stable governance, not alliances between political parties. Gyurov, in turn, challenged Iotova to a public debate before the runoff, noting that the country needs an active president who unites rather than divides citizens. “I invite Iotova to an open, honest and civilized debate to present our views on how we will exercise our powers and how we will act when Bulgaria faces a difficult choice,” he said.

Context

The gap between the candidates in both unofficial estimates is small — from 1.9 to 3.1 percentage points — making the runoff genuinely competitive. At the same time, turnout of around 22% is extremely low even by first-round standards, and both sides are already using this fact in their rhetoric: Iotova speaks of the need for citizens to participate in voting, while Gyurov speaks of the style of the presidency. The results are still unofficial, and final data may reshape the picture before November 1.