Vanya Velikova and Panayot Kyuchukov, known as Patso from Big Brother, received 4,530 votes in the first round of the presidential elections. The couple collected 0.298% of the votes cast and ended up ahead of several well-known political figures, Telegraf reported.
Volen Siderov and Slavcho Velkov received 4,041 votes, or 0.266%. For Alexander Tomov and Alexander Garibov, nominated by “Bulgarian Social Democracy – Euroleft“, 2,511 people voted, which is equal to 0.165%. Boyan Rasate and Yordan Manasiev received 2,317 votes, or 0.152%.
The results of the smaller presidential candidate pairs were published when almost all protocols were processed, and the final count confirmed the runoff between Iliyana Yotova – Kiril Valchev and Andrey Gyurov – Georgi Kandev. With 100% of protocols processed, the first pair has 528,929 votes, and the second - with 486,124 votes. The difference is 42,715 votes.
The first round did not produce a clear winner. Voter turnout was around 22.5%, and no presidential candidate pair simultaneously met the requirements for more than half of the votes and participation of at least half of the voters on the list. The runoff is scheduled for November 1.
Campaign with a pink Mercedes
Vanya Velikova's candidacy attracted attention with her public appearances and unusual look. During the campaign, she appeared in front of the presidency in a pink Mercedes G-class, a black dress, a pink jacket and shoes with shiny stones.
„If the Bulgarian people are behind me, I will do anything – I have no brakes! As in popfolk, I have no shame, no brakes. Bulgaria wants a provocation – I gave it to her“, said the cult folk star during her campaign.
The singer is known for the song „Salama“, while Panayot Kyuchukov gained popularity with his participation in „Big Brother“ two decades ago.