Iliana Iotova wins the Bulgarian presidential run-off to become the country's first elected woman president

1 November 2026

Bulgaria's presidential run-off was held on Sunday and the Iliana Iotova and Kiril Valchev ticket won it.
With 99.68 per cent of tally sheets processed, the pair stood at 57.66 per cent of the vote.
They defeated Andrey Gurov and Georgi Kandev, and Gurov said he accepts the results.
In the first round the Iotova-Valchev ticket had 34.759 per cent against 31.952 per cent for Gurov-Kandev.
Under the Central Election Commission's timetable, section election commissions establish polling-station results and send them to regional commissions, and final results must be announced within three days of the vote.
Iotova becomes the country's first elected woman president and had been serving as acting president.
She is the seventh person to hold the presidency of Bulgaria.