Bulgarians vote in presidential run-off as Iotova faces Gurov
Nearly 6.6 million voters are eligible in the second round, with first exit polls due at 8pm local time and official results by Wednesday.
Bulgarians are voting on Sunday in the second round of the country’s presidential election, choosing between incumbent President Iliana Iotova and Andrey Gurov. Nearly 6.6 million voters are eligible to cast a ballot.
As Sunday World reported on 1 November, the run-off follows an inconclusive first round on 25 October in which neither ticket crossed the threshold for an outright win.
Iotova, running with Kiril Valchev as her vice-presidential candidate, finished first among 27 candidate pairs with 34.76% of the vote. Her ticket is backed by the ruling Progressive Bulgaria party and the Bulgarian Socialist Party, among others. Gurov, whose running mate is Georgi Kandev, came second with 31.95%, supported by We Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria.
The first exit polls are expected at 8pm local time, 6pm GMT, immediately after polls close. Official results are due no later than Wednesday.
Bulgaria elects its president and vice-president directly for a five-year term. Iotova, 62, was elected vice-president twice, in 2016 and 2021, serving alongside President Rumen Radev. Under the country’s Constitution she succeeded Radev as head of state after he resigned in January this year, and her term is set to expire at the end of January 2027. Before her vice-presidency she served on the National Council of the Bulgarian Socialist Party from 2000 to 2016, and sat in the Bulgarian National Assembly and the European Parliament. Valchev is director general of the Bulgarian News Agency.
Gurov is an adjunct professor of finance at the American University in Bulgaria and has less political experience than Iotova. He served as Bulgaria’s caretaker prime minister for 78 days in the first half of this year, and chaired the parliamentary group of We Continue the Change in two legislatures from December 2021 to February 2023. Kandev is a former career police officer who served as acting secretary general at the Ministry of Interior for several months this year.
For South African readers, the contest is a reminder of how directly some European states vest executive authority. Bulgaria’s president is chosen by the whole electorate rather than by parliament, and the office carries a five-year mandate. South Africa’s own head of state is elected by the National Assembly, not by popular vote, a difference that shapes how leadership contests play out here.
The result will also be watched for what it signals about Bulgaria’s governing coalition. Iotova’s ticket carries the backing of the ruling party, while Gurov draws on the two formations that finished behind it in October. A win for either side would settle the question of who holds the presidency through the next parliamentary cycle.
Voting is under way, with the count to follow after polls close.
