A Turkish-Bulgarian man casts his vote to elect Bulgarian president at a polling station set in the Turkish western province of İzmir on Nov 1.
Bulgaria’s President Iliana Iotova, who favors dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine, won a presidential runoff vote on Nov. 1.
The race for the largely ceremonial post had pitted Iotova, an ally of Prime Minister Rumen Radev, against Andrey Gyurov, a banker and former caretaker prime minister backed by the pro-Western opposition.
Iotova gained between 57.4 percent and 58.2 percent of the vote, according to estimates from several polling institutes, well ahead of Gyurov, who garnered between 38.6 percent and 39.6 percent.
Flanked by Radev, a jubilant Iotova declared victory, saying her message had focused on “incomes, peace and the challenges that lie ahead”.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Iotova.
“From security and defense to our competitiveness and energy independence, I look forward to continuing our joint work. For a strong Bulgaria in a strong Europe,” she said on X.
The election was held against a backdrop of a series of drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea that have raised security concerns.
Several vessels were struck in the Black Sea off Bulgaria in October, leaving 21 people missing, in what is thought to be spillover from the Russia-Ukraine war.
While center-left Radev has said the attacks appeared to serve Russian interests and summoned the Russian ambassador, his government insists there is so far no evidence directly linking them to Moscow.
“Today, the Bulgarian people have chosen the future over the past,” said Radev, who also advocates dialogue with Moscow.
Iotova took over the post of president earlier this year from Radev, who stepped down to run in parliamentary elections.
