Bulgarians elect Iotova in the run-off, and the new president wants talks with Moscow on Ukraine
The acting president wins more than 57 percent according to the almost complete count and becomes the first woman elected head of state; turnout remained low.
Iliana Iotova won the second round of Bulgaria's presidential election on Sunday. According to almost complete figures from the Central Electoral Commission, the ticket of Iotova and vice-presidential candidate Ivaylo Valchev took 57.58 percent of the vote, or around 1.1 million voters, Business AM reports. Her opponent, former interim prime minister Andrey Gyurov, running with Georgi Kandev, ended on 39.47 percent. Iotova thus becomes the first woman to be elected president in Bulgaria, both VRT NWS and Business AM write.
Iotova has been acting president since January, after Rumen Radev resigned in order to become prime minister, RTBF reports. In the first round on 25 October she won 34.6 percent, against 32 percent for Gyurov, who was backed by the pro-Western opposition. Turnout was again low: RTBF puts it at 27 to 29 percent in the second round.
Iotova is seen as pro-Russian, VRT NWS writes. She argues for negotiations with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine and opposes further military aid to Kyiv. According to analysts quoted by AFP, she presented herself during the campaign as a president of peace. Gyurov argued that Russia must first end its aggression. The election followed a series of drone attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea off the Bulgarian coast in October, attacks that both candidates condemned.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Iotova on X and said she looked forward to further cooperation on defence, competitiveness and energy independence. The Bulgarian presidency is largely ceremonial, but the head of state can veto laws and is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, VRT NWS explains. Bulgaria joined the eurozone this year and has struggled with political instability for years.