Bulgaria’s presidential contest will go to a Nov. 1 runoff between acting President Iliana Iotova and former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov after a low-turnout first round left neither with a majority.
Official returns put Iotova at 34.6% and Gyurov at 32% with 95% of ballots counted. The race drew 27 candidates. Polling agencies estimated participation at about 22% of eligible voters, which Reuters described as a record low.
The result follows earlier exit polls that pointed to a runoff.
Bulgaria asked allies for maritime security support after drone attacks hit merchant ships off its Black Sea coast, Reuters reported. The attacks likely killed about two dozen international seafarers, according to the report.
Reuters said both candidates condemned the attacks. Reuters said Bulgarian officials had not accused Moscow of responsibility for the strikes; Prime Minister Rumen Radev said their outcome “benefits the Russian Federation.”
On Ukraine, Reuters reported that Gyurov has supported Kyiv and signed a security cooperation agreement with it while serving as caretaker prime minister. Iotova and Radev, who backs her candidacy, have urged a diplomatic end to the war, the report said.
An Iotova victory would give Bulgaria its first woman elected to the presidency, Reuters reported. The runoff is scheduled for Nov. 1.
