Iliana Iotova leads in Bulgarian presidential runoff

Bulgarians headed to the polls on Sunday, November 1, 2026, to elect their seventh president in a runoff between incumbent Iliana Iotova and pro-Western challenger Andrei Gyurov. The election took place amid heightened tensions regarding the war in Ukraine and recent drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea. Polling stations were open from 07:00 to 20:00, with the potential for extension until 21:00 if voters remained in line.

In the first round on October 25, the ticket of Iotova and running mate Kiril Valchev secured approximately 34.8% of the vote, while the ticket of Gyurov and Georgi Kantev followed with about 32%. Despite initial polls predicting a massive lead for the incumbent, the margin was much narrower than anticipated. Following the conclusion of voting, exit polls indicated that Iotova is on track to win, with estimates ranging between 50.7% and 52.5% against Gyurov's 43.4% to 44%. Official results are expected to confirm these findings as the electoral commission processes the final counts from over 9,000 polling locations.