Iliana Iotova leads in Bulgaria’s presidential election, according to exit polls

Bulgaria’s incumbent president, Iliana Iotova, received the most votes in the second round of the presidential election, according to exit polls published Sunday after polling stations closed. The Alpha Research poll gave her 52.5% of the vote, compared with 43.4% for former interim Prime Minister Andrei Ghiurov. Another poll, conducted by Market Links, indicated a closer result: 50.7% for Iotova and 44% for Ghiurov.

Official results are expected to confirm the winner of the election. If the estimates hold, Iotova will become Bulgaria’s president-elect in January 2027. She has served as head of state since January 2026, following the resignation of Rumen Radev, who entered parliamentary politics and subsequently won the snap legislative election in April.

Iotova ran alongside Kiril Vulchev with the support of the “Progressive Bulgaria” party, led by Radev, and several left-wing formations. Ghiurov, backed by the reformist and pro-Western groups “Democratic Bulgaria” and “We Continue the Change,” promoted a firmly pro-EU and pro-NATO orientation.

Russia and the war in Ukraine were central campaign issues. Iotova called for dialogue with Moscow and a “coalition for peace,” while Ghiurov criticized the government’s foreign policy and rising prices. Bulgaria’s Constitution provides for a maximum of two presidential terms of five years each.