Bulgarians vote in presidential runoff amid security threats

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 1 Nov, 05:32 · Archive

Bulgaria held a presidential runoff on Sunday between acting President Iliana Yotova and former interim Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov. Yotova narrowly beat Gyurov by 2.8 percentage points in the first round of voting on 25 October, which drew record low turnout with only 23% of eligible voters casting a ballot. Polls opened at 7 a.m. for what both outlets describe as a highly polarised contest, with first exit poll results expected after polls closed at 8 p.m. and official results to be announced Monday.

Yotova is running as an independent. As vice president, she automatically became acting president earlier this year when former head of state Rumen Radev resigned to lead his party to victory in the general election. If elected, she would become Bulgaria's first elected female president. Yotova is backed by Prime Minister Radev's Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria party and is expected to continue Radev's policy of keeping Bulgaria on its European path while supporting better relations with Russia and the lifting of sanctions.

The election is taking place against a backdrop of growing economic hardship and increased drone attacks on Black Sea shipping, which have left several sailors dead or missing. Both Yotova and Radev have called for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine but remain evasive about possible Russian involvement in the drone attacks in the Black Sea region.

How it is being reported

• Bulgarians vote in a presidential runoff marked by regional security threatsBulgarians are voting in a presidential runoff amid regional security threats and economic worries.Clickorlando · 1 Nov, 05:01
• Bulgarians vote in a presidential runoff marked by regional security threatsBulgarians are voting in a presidential runoff amid regional security threats and economic worries.News4Jax · 1 Nov, 05:01

In this story: Iliana Yotova · Andrey Gyurov · Rumen Radev · Bulgaria · Progressive Bulgaria · Russia · Ukraine · Black Sea

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log