Bulgaria Votes for President: Pro-Western Course Clashes With Neutrality on Ukraine War

In brief

• Bulgarians are voting for president, with incumbent Iliana Yotova leading pre-election polls at 41.1 percent.
• Her main rival Andrej Giurow stands at 28.3 percent, making a runoff likely.
• Turnout was 16.04 percent by 4 p.m. local time, a record low for this stage.
• The campaign centers on the country's pro-Western course versus neutrality on Russia's war in Ukraine.

Incumbent Leads Polls Ahead of Vote

Voting began at 7 a.m. local time (6 a.m. in Poland) on Sunday, with about 6.5 million citizens eligible to cast ballots (Wybory w Bułgarii – są wyniki sondażu exit poll – RMF24) (Wybory prezydenckie w Bułgarii. Ruszyło głosowanie – Onet). The electorate figure reflects a large diaspora: a Bulgarian foreign ministry report from early 2023 counted more than 2.8 million Bulgarians living abroad, which means the official voter roll is not a direct match for the population (Bułgaria wybiera prezydenta. Starcie prozachodniego kursu z neutralnością wobec wojny w Ukrainie – RMF24).

A pre-election Alpha Research poll gave President Iliana Yotova 41.1 percent support and her main rival, Andrej Giurow, 28.3 percent, making a second round likely (Wybory w Bułgarii. Urzędująca prezydentka prowadzi w sondażach – Onet). Yotova is backed by the Progressive Bulgaria party of Prime Minister Rumen Radev and by the Socialists; her result slipped slightly from 44.5 percent earlier in October. Giurow, backed by the pro-European bloc Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria, improved from 26.1 percent.

Low Turnout Early in the Day

The Central Election Commission reported that 16.04 percent of voters had cast ballots by 4 p.m. local time. The state news agency BGNES put the figure at about 15 percent by 3 p.m., which it described as a record low for this stage of an election.

Foreign Policy at the Center

Yotova, who took over after Radev stepped down in January to run in parliamentary elections, urged national unity and dialogue during the campaign. Giurow, a former head of a caretaker government, called for a Bulgaria oriented toward Europe. The main dividing line of the campaign has been policy toward Russia's war in Ukraine and security, with the pro-Western camp and a more neutral, diplomacy-first approach in open contest.

The far-right Revival party led by Kostadin Kostadinov, which takes a pro-Russian line, placed third in the Alpha poll with 12.8 percent. Radev argued after voting that the country needs a strong president with a clear mandate given the geopolitical situation.