Archive/A voter casts his ballot during Bulgaria's parliamentary election on April 19, 2026. (AA Photo)
Bulgarians voted for president on Oct. 25 as drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea sharpened security concerns, with incumbent Iliana Iotova leading a race shaped by competing approaches to Russia and the war in Ukraine.
Iotova, 62, who favors dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine, was polling at between 41 and 47 percent. Her main challenger, banker and former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, had 28 to 31 percent support, while Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the pro-Russian far-right Vazrazhdane party, trailed with 10 to 13 percent.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and were due to close at 8 p.m. Twenty-seven pairs of presidential and vice-presidential candidates were competing, nearly half of them openly pro-Kremlin.
Four vessels were struck off Bulgaria's coast this month, leaving 21 people missing in suspected spillover from the Russia-Ukraine war. Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the attacks appeared to serve Russian interests and summoned Moscow's ambassador, although his government said no evidence directly linked Russia to the strikes.
An American P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance plane began patrolling the Black Sea after Sofia requested help.
Iotova assumed the presidency this year after Radev stepped down to contest parliamentary elections and subsequently became prime minister. A victory in a runoff scheduled for Nov. 1 would make her the first woman elected president of the country of 6.4 million people and give Radev a political boost.
A former journalist and European Parliament member, Iotova was elected vice president alongside Radev in 2016 and 2021. She launched her campaign at the Golden Church in Veliki Preslav, the former capital of the First Bulgarian Empire, appealing to patriotic sentiment and calling for national unity and action against poverty in the EU's poorest member.
She has promised to be a "president of peace," advocating negotiations over Ukraine without questioning Bulgaria's EU or NATO membership.
"We do not need a Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine, but a Coalition for Peace in Ukraine," she said at a rally in Varna, arguing military support would prolong Russia's invasion.
At an Iotova rally in the southern town of Dimitrovgrad, retired teacher Irina Ilieva, 85, said the war was her main concern. "Whoever is elected... will have to do everything possible to ensure that the problems are resolved peacefully," she said.
Gyurov, 50, who is backed by the pro-Western opposition, has sharply criticized Radev's foreign policy and supports Bulgaria's Euro-Atlantic ties.
At his final campaign rally in Plovdiv on Oct. 21, he said he wanted Bulgaria to be "a reliable ally within NATO, defending its interests through solid preparedness, strong diplomacy and clear positions."
Gallery owner and art historian Toros Torosian, 57, described the election as "decisive for Bulgaria" at the rally.
"Bulgaria is at a critical juncture, because the balance of power is leaning in favour of pro-Russian currents," he said.
Bulgaria, an EU and NATO member with historically close ties to Russia, remains deeply divided over its relationship with Moscow. Political scientist Parvan Simeonov, founder of polling institute Myara, described the contest as a clash between two visions: one "conservative, popular and oriented toward the East" and the other "Western, elitist and liberal."
"The election matters because the president symbolises the unity of the nation and the strategic direction it is heading towards," European Council on Foreign Relations deputy director Vessela Tcherneva told AFP. The presidency is a largely ceremonial post.
