Outgoing Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova achieved a landslide victory in the presidential elections, far ahead of her rival supported by the pro-Western opposition. It received more than 57% of the votes, based on a program calling for dialogue with Moscow to reach a solution to the war in Ukraine.
Published on: 02/11/2026 - 09:00 Last updated: 02/11/2026 - 14:50
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In the presidential elections held on Sunday, outgoing Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova, who calls for dialogue with Moscow in order to end the war in Ukraine, won.
Iotova received between 57.4 and 58.2% of the votes, far ahead of her rival Andrey Gurov, the former transitional prime minister supported by the pro-Western opposition, who received between 38.6 and 39.6% of the votes.
Surrounded by her team and Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Yotova said on Sunday evening, "We ran a positive campaign from the first moment. We did not allow ourselves to launch any attacks, and we did not resort to hate speech or division."
She considered that voters understood her message, which focused on “income, peace, and the challenges that must be faced,” while Radev considered that the Bulgarians chose a “stable and clear vision,” after a period of political instability that witnessed the holding of eight legislative elections since 2021.
For his part, Gurov told the media that he accepts “the results as they are,” adding that “the best is yet to come, and we have laid solid foundations on which we can build.”
For her part, sociologist Boriana Dimitrova from the Alpha Research Institute said that Iotova succeeded in winning over voters by presenting herself as a “president of peace” at a time when the elections took place amid security concerns that followed a series of drone attacks targeting commercial ships in the Black Sea, in the latest repercussions of the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine.
Read also: Bulgaria summons the Ukrainian ambassador after a drone exploded near a strategic gas pipeline
Attacks in the Black Sea
After casting her vote on Sunday in a high school in Sofia, Iotova (62 years old) called for Bulgaria to be “a strong country in a strong Europe,” stressing the need to pursue an independent foreign policy based on “national interest,” while affirming Bulgaria’s adherence to its membership in the European Union and NATO.
During a television debate on Thursday, Iotova reiterated that “there is no peace except through negotiations.”
She explained that "pumping more money into Ukraine and providing new, more advanced weapons will only lead to more destruction and the death of a large number of people on both sides."
On the other hand, Gurov (50 years old) said, “Russia must end its aggression before moving forward with any step.”
"Let's name the country that is the source of the threats," he added, accusing his rival of not holding Russia responsible for the recent tensions in the Black Sea.
On October 6 and 13, four commercial ships were attacked by drones off the coast of Bulgaria, resulting in the loss of 21 people. Radev considered that these attacks were in Moscow's interest, while at the same time refusing to officially reveal who was responsible, citing the lack of concrete evidence.
France 24/AFP
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