Pro-Russian candidate Yotova becomes Bulgaria's president
Photo: Iliana Yotova (flickr.com)
On Sunday, November 1, Bulgaria held the second round of its presidential election. With almost all votes counted, incumbent President Iliana Yotova is set to win. She advocates dialogue with Russia and opposes aid to Ukraine, according to Bulgaria's Central Election Commission, BNT reports.
As of 5 a.m. Kyiv time, Bulgaria's Central Election Commission had processed 99.56% of the vote. According to the results, the ticket of pro-Russian candidate Iliana Yotova and vice-presidential candidate Kiril Vilchev had secured 57.69% of the vote.
Meanwhile, her opponents, pro-Ukrainian and pro-Western former Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov and vice-presidential candidate Georgi Kandev, had received 39.35%.
Another option was "I support neither," which received 2.96% of the vote.
Andrey Gyurov has already acknowledged the election results.
"We accept the results as they are. This is how the citizens of Bulgaria voted. Nothing was in vain, and the best is yet to come," he said.
In January 2026, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev announced his resignation after nearly nine years in office.
On January 23, the Constitutional Court terminated his powers ahead of schedule, making Radev the first head of state to voluntarily leave office before the end of his term.
Following this, presidential powers were transferred to Vice President Iliana Yotova.
