Iliana Iotova won Bulgaria’s Nov. 1 presidential runoff with 57.6% of the vote, becoming the country’s first woman elected president, while turnout was low at 29.1%.
Near-final figures from the election commission gave challenger Andrey Gyurov 39.5% of the vote. About 3% chose “I support no one.” The runoff followed an Oct. 25 first round in which neither ticket won more than half the vote.
Iotova had served as acting president since January, after Rumen Radev resigned to enter parliamentary politics. Her victory gives her a five-year elected term. Gyurov conceded defeat and said voters’ decision must be accepted.
Iotova called for broad agreement across the country and dialogue between opposing political groups. Bulgaria’s presidency has mostly ceremonial duties, but the contest had wider importance. Prime Minister Radev’s governing Progressive Bulgaria party had endorsed Iotova.
This made the result a measure of the party’s political standing. Foreign policy became a major campaign issue. Iotova has urged dialogue with Moscow and opposed further Bulgarian military aid to Ukraine.
Gyurov, backed by opposition forces that favor closer ties with the West, supported closer alignment with Western partners. Low participation remained a notable feature of the vote. Runoff turnout was higher than the first round’s 22.98%.
This highlighted that voters continued to be disengaged.