Bulgaria election heads to a run-off amid low voter turnout

Bulgarians will now choose between President Iliana Yotova and former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov next week.Published On 25 Oct 202625 Oct 2026Bulgaria’s presidential election is heading to a run-off after polls closed with low voter turnout and no candidate passing the required threshold.Incumbent President Iliana Iotova received between 35 and 36.5 percent of votes on Sunday, according to exit polls. She will now face former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, who scored between 31 and 33.5 percent, in a second round on November 1.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Netanyahu’s pitch: Can Israel use crypto to evade economic sanctions?list 2 of 3Eight killed in Gaza as Israel targets university campus and other siteslist 3 of 3Serbia’s Vucic concedes election defeat to student-led movementend of listMinister of Interior Ivan Demerdzhiev said the elections “took place peacefully, without the usual practices of vote buying and vote manipulation”, Bulgarian National Television reported.The NATO and European Union member state saw 27 presidential candidates run in the election.A run-off was expected, as turnout must reach more than 50 percent of registered vot...