The current interim president of Bulgaria, Iliana Yotova, is on the verge of becoming the first woman democratically elected as head of state in the country's history, after securing a clear lead in the second round of the presidential elections held this Sunday, according to preliminary official data.
With 92.39% of the ballots counted by the Central Electoral Commission (CIK, by its acronym in Bulgarian), the candidacy of Yotova, who is running together with Kiril Valchev, has accumulated 1,022,503 ballots, which represents 57.35% of the votes cast.
Her opponent, former interim prime minister Andrey Giurov, backed by opposition formations of a pro-Western orientation and accompanied by Georgi Kandev, has 707,310 votes, equivalent to 39.67%. In addition, 2.96% of the electorate (52,846 votes) has marked the option of "no support for anyone". The appointment with the polls has again been marked by very low turnout, which has stood at 29.1%.
After the projections became known, Yotova claimed her victory, emphasizing that her campaign has revolved around "income, peace and future challenges," and expressed her gratitude for the support of the Progressive Bulgaria party, led by the current prime minister, Ruman Radev. Giurov, for his part, admitted defeat, noting that "this is how the Bulgarian citizens have voted" and that the result must be accepted.
The campaign has been strongly conditioned by the debate surrounding the war in Ukraine and by the increase in security tensions in the Black Sea, motivated by the increase in drone attacks against merchant ships.
In contrast to Giurov's openly pro-Western profile, a firm defender of Kiev, Yotova has presented herself as a "president of peace", in favor of maintaining channels of dialogue with Moscow and aligned with the positions of Prime Minister Radev, whom she succeeded as interim president last January, after he resigned to run in the legislative elections.
Although the post will have the legitimacy of the direct vote, the Head of State in Bulgaria is subject to limited powers. Unlike systems such as the French one, the Bulgarian president does not have the authority to dismiss the head of Government, although he holds supreme command of the Armed Forces.
Among the presidential functions are the granting and withdrawal of nationality, as well as the appointment of ambassadors and members of international delegations on the proposal of the Executive. It also has the power to veto laws approved by Parliament and return them to the Chamber for further deliberation.