Turkish media described Iliana Yotova's victory in the presidential elections in Bulgaria as historic. With 99.95% of the protocols processed, the presidential candidate pair Iliana Yotova – Kiril Valchev received 57.58% of the votes, according to data from the Central Election Commission, cited by bTV.
Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev remain second with 39.47% of the votes. Thus, Yotova emerges as the first woman elected by direct popular vote as president of Bulgaria. The final announcement of the results is pending after the completion of the processing of all protocols.
The first woman with a full presidential mandate
The Anadolu Agency presented the election victory as a historic moment for the country.
The newspaper “Cumhuriyet“ also emphasized the fact that Bulgaria will have its first female president elected by the citizens. The publication recalls that Yotova took over the temporary presidency in January 2026 after the resignation of Rumen Radev, but the current vote provides her with her own mandate.
How the runoff came about
In the first round on October 25, Yotova and Valchev received about 34.8% of the vote, and Gyurov and Kandev - about 32%. Neither pair received the required majority, and the election was decided in a runoff on November 1.
Yotova had been Rumen Radev's vice president since 2017. She took over as interim president after his resignation, and her campaign was supported by the former head of state's party. Gyurov, a former caretaker prime minister and former deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, was supported by opposition parties.
After the results were announced, Radev congratulated Yotova. "I believe you will be a worthy president of the country," he said.
Iotova's victory means that Bulgaria will have a woman who won the presidency through direct election for the first time, and Kiril Valchev will take the position of vice president.
Sources: aa.com.tr, cumhuriyet.com.tr, btvnovinite.bg