UDF will not support a specific presidential candidate pair in the elections on October 25, but will let its members and supporters vote conscientiously for a democratic and right-wing candidate. This is the decision of the National Council of the party, taken at its meeting.
The position excludes support for the pair Andrey Gyurov – Georgi Kandev. UDF Chairman Iliya Lazarov has already stated that the party does not see them as candidates to support for president and vice president. In his political assessments, he defined the forces surrounding the candidacy as representatives of the center-left and “left liberals“.
“We will most likely decide to vote according to conscience“, Lazarov said earlier, when explaining the party's expected position.The SDS will not nominate its own presidential candidate pair. At the same time, the formation has not made a commitment to automatically support a candidate nominated by its partners in the parliamentary government. Lazarov pointed out that if GERB nominates its own candidate, the SDS would support this candidacy, but the party will not stand behind a foreign candidate just because of its political relations.
How the decision was reached
Andrei Gyurov and Georgi Kandev announced their participation in the presidential elections in September. Gyurov is a candidate for president, and Kandev - for vice president. The Central Election Commission registered the pair to run in the October 25, 2026, election.
The candidacy received support from DSB, which identified Gyurov and Kandev as individuals capable of returning the presidential institution to its constitutional role and defending the democratic order.
However, the UDF took a different position. Lazarov said that the initial idea was for the political forces from the center-right and the formations close to it to seek a common candidate through talks. According to him, Gyurov and Kandev were presented as ready-made candidacies, without a broader political agreement being reached.
“They do not have the qualities to be president and vice president“, said the UDF chairman, specifying that the refusal was not dictated by GERB's position, but by his own assessment of the candidates.