SOFIA – Bulgarians went to the polls on Sunday to elect a president after a tight first-round race failed to produce an outright winner last weekend for the largely ceremonial role.
Incumbent President Iliana Iotova, 61, led former caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov, 50, but fell short of the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff. The first round featured 27 candidates and recorded a historically low turnout.
Exit polls will be published after voting closes at 8pm local time, with a final result expected on Monday as ballots are counted.
The election comes amid a series of drone attacks on merchant ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast over the past month, which have drawn international condemnation and raised concerns about the war in Ukraine spreading across the region. About two dozen seafarers are feared dead, and a Greek container ship sank on Wednesday after being struck by sea drones.
Both presidential candidates have condemned the attacks and called for a diplomatic end to the war. Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who backs Iotova, said the strikes’ outcome “benefits the Russian Federation.”
A victory for Iotova would make her Bulgaria’s first elected female president. She became acting president in January after Radev resigned to run for parliament.
Gyurov, supported by pro-Western and reformist parties, has long backed Ukraine and signed a security cooperation agreement with Kyiv while serving as caretaker prime minister. Several right-leaning figures, including former premier Boiko Borisov, have also expressed support for him.