A second round of presidential elections will be held in Bulgaria

According to the data from the Bulgarian Central Election Commission, after processing 95.29%-95.3% of the protocols, incumbent President Iliana Iotova received 34.59%-34.6% of the votes, while her main competitor, former Prime Minister Andrei Gyurov, garnered 32%-32.03%. A total of 27 candidates participated in the election. Kostadin Kostadinov came in third place with 12.62%, and Radostin Vassilev came in fourth with 4.60%. 1TV+4

Among the main topics of the election campaign were economic problems, inflation, and Russia's war in Ukraine. Iliana Iotova is supported by Prime Minister Rumen Radev's political force "Progressive Bulgaria," which favors dialogue with Russia and opposes providing military aid to Ukraine. Andrei Gyurov, who is supported by pro-Western and pro-European forces, is in favor of helping Ukraine and signed a security agreement with Kyiv during his premiership. 1TV+3

During the course of the election, attention was focused on drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea. Furthermore, "Radio Liberty" notes that analysts explain the low turnout by a lack of trust in politicians and political instability. "Interpressnews" notes that the turnout significantly lags behind the 50% threshold. 1TV+3

Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic where the president's powers are limited, although they have the function of commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the right to veto laws, and the ability to sign international documents. Publika+2