Politics

Iliana Iotova Leads in Bulgarian Presidential Run‑Off

By Al Jazeera Staff

Initial counts show Iliana Iotova, the acting president, ahead in Bulgaria’s presidential run‑off, with her opponent, former interim prime minister Andrey Gyurov, conceding defeat. Iotova, who supports dialogue with Russia and opposes military aid to Ukraine, received 58 percent of the vote in Sunday’s run‑off, according to several polling agencies. If confirmed by official results, she would become Bulgaria’s first elected female head of state. Gyurov, backed by the pro‑Western opposition, is trailing at about 38 percent and said the results must be accepted as they stand. Exit polls estimate voter participation at 27 to 29 percent, slightly higher than the record‑low 23 percent turnout in the first round last week. Official results are expected on Monday as ballots are counted for the largely ceremonial presidency. Iotova, 61, became acting president in January after Prime Minister Rumen Radev resigned to run in and win a parliamentary election. A Sofia teacher, Krassimira Kostova, 64, said she did not like either candidate but voted anyway. Retired engineer Petar Doitchinov, 67, skipped the first round and voted for the “lesser evil” in the run‑off, saying neither candidate matched his vision of democracy. The vote follows a series of drone attacks on commercial vessels off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, which left 21 people missing. The attacks are suspected to be spill‑over from Russia’s war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Radev said the attacks appear to serve Moscow’s interests and summoned the Russian ambassador, though his government said there was no evidence directly linking them to Moscow. Both presidential candidates condemned the attacks and called for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine. Gyurov criticised Iotova in a television debate for not explicitly blaming Russia, saying “Russia must stop its aggression so that the next steps can be taken.” Iotova said “peace can come only through negotiations” and, after voting, said she wanted “Bulgaria to be strong in a strong Europe” and “sovereign in its decisions.” In the first round last week, Iotova won 35 percent to Gyurov’s 32 percent, a much narrower gap than the 20‑point lead opinion polls had predicted for Iotova. Political analyst Teodor Slavev told AFP that voters were judging “Iotova’s unconvincing response regarding Russian threats in the Black Sea.”