Iliana Yotova won Sunday’s presidential run-off in Bulgaria and will become the first woman elected to the office. According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), which published figures on Monday morning after all protocols were processed, Yotova and her running mate Kiril Valchev received 57.57% of the vote (1,093,852). Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev won 39.48% (750,251). Almost 3% chose the “I do not support anyone” option.
Low turnout, clear result
The margin was more than 343,000 votes, although in the first round on 25 October the two were less than three points apart (34.8% to 32.0%). Turnout was again low. The first round hit a record low of around 23%. For the run-off, exit polls suggested 27–29%, while partial CEC data at 4pm showed 19.33%.
Gyurov, a banker and former caretaker prime minister backed by the pro-Western opposition, conceded. “This is how the Bulgarian citizens have voted,” he said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated the winner and said she looked forward to continuing joint work on security, defence, competitiveness and energy independence.
Who is the winner
Yotova, 61, has been acting president since January. She took over when her long-time ally Rumen Radev resigned the presidency to lead his party into April’s parliamentary election. Radev won and is now prime minister.
Yotova favours dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine. “Peace can come only through negotiations,” she said during the campaign. She also said Bulgaria should be “strong in a strong Europe” and “sovereign in its decisions”. In a TV debate Gyurov criticised her for not explicitly blaming Russia for drone attacks on merchant ships off the Black Sea coast. Twenty-one people went missing in the October attacks. Both candidates condemned the attacks and called for a diplomatic end to the war.
What the Bulgarian president can do
Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic. The president serves a five-year term in a largely ceremonial role, but has real tools: appointing caretaker governments when parliament cannot form a cabinet, and vetoing laws. A veto can be overridden by an absolute majority in parliament. Bulgarian media report that the new term begins in January.
What it means for Poles and Polish businesses in the UK
Our view: the result strengthens Sofia’s cautious line on Ukraine, but does not change the legal framework businesses operate in. According to the Kyiv Independent, Radev’s government stopped supplying Ukraine from army stocks and left the UK- and French-led “Coalition of the Willing”. With his ally in the presidency, the head of state and the government are likely to speak with one voice in the coming years.
For businesses, what the vote does not change matters most. Bulgaria remains in the EU and NATO, inside the single market and the EU customs union, and covered by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. A Polish-owned firm in the UK selling to or buying from Bulgaria operates under the same customs and tax rules as yesterday. Any change is more likely in the EU’s political climate: votes on Russia sanctions, support for Ukraine and security policy on the eastern flank, where both Bulgaria and Poland sit.
The overseas vote is worth noting. Bulgarians abroad backed Gyurov (56.4% to 41.4% for Yotova). The diaspora voted differently from voters at home, as in many elections in the region – a sign that emigrants, including those in Britain, see foreign policy differently.
Black Sea security remains a risk. Drone attacks on merchant ships affect marine insurance costs and regional logistics. Firms using the ports of Varna or Burgas should follow updates from carriers and insurers.
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