SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Exit polls in Bulgaria suggest that incumbent President Iliana Yotova is the apparent winner of the country’s presidential runoff election. Partial official results are expected later Sunday.
Polls by several polling organizations give Yotova around 52% of the vote. If the official results confirm it, she will become Bulgaria’s first elected female head of state.
Former interim Prime Minister Andrei Gyurov, supported by pro-Western reformist opposition parties, would be at the back of the pack with around 44%.
The vote marks the first major test for Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s pro-Moscow Progressive Bulgaria party, which has backed Yotova. In April’s parliamentary vote, the party won 131 of the 240 seats in Parliament, securing an absolute majority.
Observers say a Yotova victory would keep the presidency in the hands of the governing majority. Such a concentration of power could prevent effective checks and balances on institutions’ policy decisions, they argue.
Yotova, 62, took over the presidency in January, when Radev resigned to run in parliamentary electionsand sought his own elected office. She is expected to continue Radev’s policy of keeping Bulgaria on the European path, while supporting better relations with Russia and the lifting of sanctions.
After voting on Sunday, Yotova said she voted for a Bulgaria that makes its own decisions and maintains a strong voice on the international stage.
“I voted for a national consensus through dialogue, for institutions that work for citizens, for a strong state with its own foreign policy in a strong Europe,” she told journalists.
The Balkan country joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union in 2007. Although there is broad consensus among parties in parliament on the country’s pro-Western path, widespread pro-Russian sentiments, based on traditional historical and cultural ties with Russia, have divided society, particularly since the start of Moscow’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Both Yotova and Radev have called for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine, but remain evasive about possible Russian involvement in drone attacks in the Black Sea region.
During a televised debate between the two presidential candidates, Yotova argued for a settlement involving both Ukraine and Russia, saying “peace could only come through negotiations.” She also proposed a security meeting involving the six Black Sea countries to sign a moratorium on hostilities.
The Bulgarian presidency is above all ceremonial. Although the head of state has no executive power and all important policies must be approved by Parliament, direct election gives him greater political authority. The president directs the armed forces and can veto legislation, signs international treaties and appoints ambassadors.
Bulgarian presidents are directly elected for a five-year term and cannot serve more than two terms.
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