Bulgaria set to elect its first female president as Russia-friendly Iliana Yotova wins runoff
Bulgaria’s acting president, Iliana Yotova, won the second round of the country’s presidential election on November 1.
With 99.68% of ballots counted, preliminary results showed 57.6% of voters had voted for Yotova and 39.3% for her main rival, former interim Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov.
Gyurov conceded defeat.
Yotova has twice served as Bulgaria’s vice president under President Rumen Radev. Radev stepped down early in January 2026 to run in parliamentary elections, and Yotova temporarily took over as president.
If the results are confirmed, Yotova will become the first woman elected president in Bulgaria’s history.
In the first round, neither candidate received the votes needed to win outright. Yotova took 34.76% of the vote, while Gyurov took 31.94%. Turnout was extremely low in both rounds: 23% in the first round and 27% in the second.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party, which won an absolute majority in April’s parliamentary elections, backed Yotova’s candidacy. According to AP, Yotova’s victory will allow Radev’s ruling majority to retain control of the presidency.
Like Radev, Yotova supports negotiations with Russia and a diplomatic settlement to the war in Ukraine. She also opposes providing military aid to Kyiv and supports lifting sanctions on Russia.
Yotova supports Bulgaria remaining in the EU and NATO, and she is expected to maintain the country’s pro-European course.
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