Bulgarians vote in presidential runoff amid political instability

SOFIA, BULGARIA - NOV. 1, 2026: Bulgarians returned to the polls Sunday to elect their president in a runoff between acting President Iliana Yotova and former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov after neither candidate secured a majority in the first round.

Yotova and her running mate, Kiril Valchev, received 34.8% of the vote, while Gyurov and Georgi Kandev secured 32%, according to the Central Election Commission. Turnout in the Oct. 25 vote stood at around 22.5%, the lowest recorded in the country's post-communist history.

A total of 27 candidates contested the first round.

A candidate must receive more than half of the valid votes, with turnout exceeding 50% of registered voters, to win in the first round under electoral rules. If those conditions are not met, the two leading candidates advance to a runoff.

The vote comes amid political instability in Bulgaria, which has held eight parliamentary elections since April 2021, including seven early elections.

The repeated parliamentary votes followed difficulties among political parties in securing the support needed to form stable governments.

Disagreements over coalition arrangements led to the collapse of successive attempts to establish regular governments, resulting in caretaker Cabinets and further early elections.

The latest parliamentary election, held in April, saw Progressive Bulgaria, led by former President Rumen Radev, win 131 of the National Assembly's 240 seats, giving the party an outright majority.

Yotova, who served as Radev's vice president, assumed the presidency after he resigned in January. Backed by Radev's Progressive Bulgaria party, she is seeking a full presidential mandate.

A victory would make Yotova Bulgaria's first elected female president, whose duties include representing the country, serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and exercising a veto on legislation.

Gyurov, an economist and former deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, served as caretaker prime minister before the parliamentary elections in April. He is backed by opposition parties.

The campaign has included debate about Bulgaria's foreign policy and its relations with Russia, Ukraine and Western allies.

Polling stations opened at 7 am (0500GMT) and are scheduled to close at 8 pm (1800GMT).