Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said final returns from the Oct. 25 presidential vote confirmed a Nov. 1 runoff after turnout and vote totals failed to meet first-round requirements.
The final count gave 528,951 votes to the ticket led by Acting President Iliana Yotova and 486,232 to former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov’s ticket, among 27 tickets. The CEC said 1,525,034 of 6,584,025 eligible voters participated.
Article 93 of Bulgaria’s Constitution requires a ticket to win more than half of valid votes and turnout to exceed half of eligible voters for a first-round victory. Polling agencies estimated first-round participation at about 22% of eligible voters, which Reuters described as a record low.
Ukraine policy was among the campaign issues. Reuters reported Gyurov backed Kyiv and signed a security cooperation agreement with Ukraine during his caretaker premiership, while Yotova called for diplomacy to end the war.
The presidency carries a five-year term, and the officeholder may send legislation back for reconsideration. The first-round results advanced the two leading tickets to the Nov. 1 runoff.
