Bulgaria's incumbent president wins presidential runoff: exit polls

SOFIA -- Bulgaria's incumbent President Iliana Iotova wins Sunday's presidential runoff, according to exit polls announced on Bulgarian National TV.

According to pollster Alpha Research, Iotova would secure 52.5 percent of the vote while former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov would have 43.4 percent. The remaining 4.1 percent preferred the option "I don't support anyone."

Meanwhile, Myara Sociology Agency anticipated 51.1 percent for Iotova, 44.6 percent for Gurov, and 4.3 percent for "I don't support anyone."

The official results are due no later than Wednesday. Under the Bulgarian Constitution, the candidate receiving the most votes wins.

Bulgaria's president is elected directly by voters for five years. Nearly 6.6 million voters were expected to cast their ballots in the runoff.

Iotova, whose term will expire at the end of January 2027, is running with Kiril Valchev as her vice-presidential candidate, and Gurov, an adjunct professor of finance at the American University in Bulgaria, is seeking the presidency with Georgi Kandev as his running mate.

Iotova, 62, was elected vice president twice, in 2016 and 2021, serving alongside then President Rumen Radev. In accordance with the country's Constitution, she succeeded Radev as head of state after he resigned in January this year. Before that, she served on the National Council of the Bulgarian Socialist Party from 2000 to 2016, as well as in the Bulgarian National Assembly and the European Parliament.