SOFIA — Bulgaria's Central Election Commission (CEC) has put President Iliana Iotova at 57.94 percent of the vote in Sunday's presidential runoff, against 39.01 percent for Andrey Gyurov, in its first official figures with 17.39 percent of polling-station protocols processed. The counted result is far wider than the exit polls released at the close of voting — reported earlier on this site — which had projected Iotova at only about 51 to 52.5 percent in a much closer race.

Source: Central Election Commission figures via Election Tracker, Nov 1

Parallel vote counts by polling agencies pointed the same way as the official count. Figures reported by Bulgaria's BTA news agency put the Iotova–Kiril Valchev ticket at 58.1 percent in Trend's full-sample count, 58.2 percent in Myara's and 57.4 percent in Alpha Research's, with Gyurov between 38.6 and 39.6 percent; Gallup International Balkan's partial count had Iotova at 56.1 percent.

Source: BTA via Qazinform, Nov 1

57.94%Iotova's share in the CEC's first official count, with 17.39% of protocols processed
39.01%Gyurov's share in the same official count
22 January 2027Start of Iotova's full five-year term as president

Gyurov accepts the result

Gyurov conceded on election night. “We accept the results as they stand, surprising as the discrepancy between the exit polls and the parallel vote count may be. Ultimately, this is how Bulgarian citizens have voted,” he said, in remarks published by Bulgarian National Radio. His running mate, Georgi Kandev, congratulated the winners.

Source: Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), Nov 1

Iotova, 62, took over the presidency earlier this year from Rumen Radev, who stepped down to enter parliamentary politics, and Sunday's win makes her the first elected woman president of the country of 6.4 million people, AFP reported. She favours dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine, while Gyurov, a banker and former caretaker prime minister, was backed by the pro-Western opposition. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Iotova on X, DW reported.

Source: AFP via Al Hayat, Nov 1

A low-turnout race under a Black Sea shadow

The runoff followed a first round on October 25 in which Iotova finished first with 34.76 percent and Gyurov second with 31.95 percent, on a record-low turnout of 23 percent; turnout in the runoff was projected at around 27 percent. The vote was held amid security concerns in the European Union and NATO member state after a series of drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea. The presidency is largely ceremonial, but the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and can appoint interim governments and veto legislation.

What is solid

  • The CEC's first official count put Iotova at 57.94% and Gyurov at 39.01% with 17.39% of protocols processed
  • Parallel counts by Trend, Myara and Alpha Research all put Iotova between 57.4% and 58.2%
  • Gyurov publicly accepted the results on election night, in remarks published by BNR

What is only claimed

  • The final official margin — the CEC is expected to announce the official runoff results by November 4, and later counts reported on election night put Iotova slightly lower, at about 57.4%, still a wide win
  • Why exit polls understated her lead so sharply — Gyurov himself flagged the 'surprising' discrepancy between the exit polls and the parallel count
What happens next

The Central Election Commission is expected to announce the official runoff results by Wednesday, November 4. Iotova's full five-year term begins on January 22, 2027, with Kiril Valchev as vice president.

Earlier on Sunday, exit polls at the close of voting projected a much narrower Iotova win, as this site reported at the time. Read: Exit polls say Iotova wins Bulgaria's presidential runoff