Bulgaria Election: Exit Poll Puts Yotova Ahead in Presidential Runoff with 51 Percent
Incumbent President Iliana Yotova is projected to win Bulgaria's presidential runoff, initial exit polls showed on Sunday. The candidate of the ruling centre-left party Progressive Bulgaria could secure 51 percent of the vote, according to Bulgarian polling institute Mjara.
Her pro-Western challenger Andrej Gjurow trails with just under 45 percent, according to the data. The former interim prime minister is backed by the liberal-conservative opposition camp. If confirmed, Yotova would become the first female head of state elected in Bulgaria.
Yotova, who is 62, assumed the presidency in January 2026 after Rumen Radev departed to run for parliament. After casting her ballot on Sunday, she stated that she voted “for national consensus through dialogue, for institutions that work for citizens, for a strong state with its own foreign policy in a strong Europe.” Bulgaria has been a member of NATO since 2004 and the European Union since 2007.
Divisions over Russia and Ukraine
During the election campaign, Yotova repeatedly advocated for a peace solution for Ukraine through negotiations with Russia, stating that she wanted to be a Bulgarian president of peace. In contrast, Gjurow signalled closer alignment with Western partners and stronger support for Ukraine in the conflict.
The election in the southeastern EU country on NATO's eastern flank was overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Ukraine. In recent weeks, drone attacks on merchant ships have increased in the Bulgarian economic zone in the Black Sea, as well as in Romanian waters.
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Around 6.5 million citizens were eligible to vote across the country. Shortly before polling stations closed, voter turnout stood at only 29 percent, according to pollsters. Interest in the runoff was nevertheless higher than in the first round of voting a week earlier.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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