Iliana Yotova Wins Bulgaria’s Presidential Runoff With 57.6%

Iliana Yotova has won Bulgaria’s presidential runoff, becoming the country’s seventh president and the first woman elected to the office, according to final results from the Central Election Commission (CEC). Yotova and her running mate, Kiril Valchev, took 57.566% of the vote in Sunday’s second round, defeating Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev on 39.483%.

Yotova, previously vice-president, has served as acting head of state since January, when Rumen Radev resigned the presidency to run in the parliamentary election. Radev won that contest and is now prime minister. Her new five-year mandate begins in January.

What Were the Final Results?

With all polling-station protocols processed, the Yotova–Valchev ticket received 1,093,852 votes, while Gyurov and Kandev collected 750,251, according to CEC data reported by Novinite at 9:15am local time on 2 November. That is a margin of 343,601 votes. A further 56,080 voters, or 2.951%, chose the “I do not support anyone” option on the ballot.

The runoff was needed because no ticket won a majority in the first round on 25 October. Yotova led that vote with 34.759%, ahead of Gyurov on 31.952%. She then widened the gap considerably in the second round.

How Many Bulgarians Voted?

Turnout was low. The CEC’s final official turnout figure was 19.33% as of 4pm on 1 November, with 1,282,848 people having voted out of 6,637,274 eligible voters. A parallel vote count by the Trend agency put runoff turnout at 27.5%. Reuters described Yotova’s victory as coming “amid low voter turnout”.

Exit poll data from Market LINKS, broadcast by bTV, suggested a generational divide, with Gyurov drawing stronger support from younger voters and Yotova’s backing rising among older age groups, according to Novinite.

How Did Bulgarians Abroad Vote?

The diaspora went the other way. Among Bulgarian citizens voting overseas, Gyurov and Kandev won 56.363% against 41.435% for Yotova and Valchev. The split varied sharply by country: voters in the United States backed Gyurov by 67.5% to 30.5%, while voters in Russia backed Yotova by 84% to 13.7%.

Some liberal politicians read the result as a ceiling for their camp. Radan Kanev of the Democratic Bulgaria coalition said the democratic community had reached its highest possible mobilisation but could not grow its support beyond roughly 750,000 votes, Novinite reported.

Who Is Iliana Yotova?

Yotova, a former journalist and member of the European Parliament, served as vice-president alongside Radev from 2017 and stepped up when he resigned. Reuters noted that Radev, whose party won the parliamentary election on a ticket many analysts consider Kremlin-friendly, supported Yotova’s campaign. Both have called for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine.

In Bulgaria’s parliamentary system the president’s powers are limited but significant. The head of state represents the country abroad, is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, can return laws to parliament for reconsideration, and plays a central role in appointing caretaker governments when parliament cannot form one.

What Does the Result Mean for Bulgaria and the EU?

With Radev as prime minister and his former vice-president as head of state, Bulgaria’s two top offices will be held by close political allies. That could make relations between the presidency and the government smoother than in recent years, when frequent elections and caretaker cabinets dominated Bulgarian politics. It also means foreign policy, especially on Russia and Ukraine, will be watched closely by Bulgaria’s partners.

Bulgaria joined the euro area this year and remains a member of both the EU and NATO, so any shift in tone on Ukraine will be watched closely in Brussels. Elsewhere in the region, voters in Serbia recently handed a student-led list victory over Aleksandar Vučić’s party, underlining how unsettled politics in south-eastern Europe remains.

Featured image: Iliana Yotova speaking at a Citizens’ Corner debate, by euranet_plus / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. File photo.

Sources

• Novinite — Final Results Confirm Yotova’s 57.5% Victory Over Gyurov (2 November 2026).
• Novinite — Yotova Wins Five More Years as Bulgaria’s President, New Mandate Begins in January (2 November 2026).
• Reuters via Yahoo News — Bulgaria’s Iotova wins presidential runoff, near-final results show (2 November 2026).
• Central Election Commission of Bulgaria — Presidential election 2026, second round results (2 November 2026).