The low voter turnout became the main topic in the comments after the first round of the presidential elections, in which Iliana Yotova and Andrey Gyurov qualified for the runoff. Representatives of the initiative committees of the two candidates gave different assessments of what the results showed and what the refusal of a large part of the voters to vote means.
Lyuboslav Kostov, a member of Iliana Yotova's initiative committee, defined the turnout as one of the most important signals from the vote. “Obviously, people showed a red card to the entire political class by refusing to vote“, he said on NOVA. According to him, the low turnout calls into question the significance of the differences between the candidates and makes the upcoming debate particularly important.
Different interpretations of the low turnout
Rumyana Bachvarova, who supports Andrey Gyurov, also emphasized voter behavior, but defined it as a boycott of the elections. According to her, the campaign has significantly changed public attitudes in its final stages. Bachvarova said that she had not heard Iliyana Yotova have a position on economic issues.
Boris Pankin, who supports Yotova, defined the upcoming debate as an opportunity for the two candidates to clarify their positions. “The good thing is that there will be a Gyurov - Yotova debate, because it is high time we understood what Mr. Gyurov thinks about many things“, he commented.
Pankin also drew attention to the discrepancy between the predictions at the end of the campaign and the election day result. "Until 72 hours ago, even sociologists gave two to one. Suddenly, that has changed," he said. According to him, the expectation of a clear victory for Yotova and Valchev may have influenced the way some voters perceived the race.
A dispute over who the message is directed at
Radoslav Bimbalov, part of Andrey Gyurov's initiative committee, did not agree with the thesis that the low turnout is an assessment of the entire political class. "This is a red card. It is not directed at the entire political class. It is directed at Mr. Radev and Mrs. Yotova," Bimbalov said.
He linked the result to expectations of change after the previous presidential vote and directed political criticism at Rumen Radev and Iliyana Yotova. These assessments are Bimbalov's position and do not constitute an established fact about the reasons why citizens decided not to vote.
After the first round, the two candidates continue to the runoff, which will be held on Sunday, November 1. The expected debate will be one of the key moments in the campaign between the two rounds, as both sides present it as an opportunity to mobilize voters and to more clearly outline political positions.