Bulgaria presidential runoff pits Radev ally against pro-Western rival

Bulgarians vote on Sunday in a presidential runoff between outgoing President Iliana Yotova and former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov. Yotova took 34.8 percent of the first-round vote, edging out Gyurov, who won 32 percent. The first round was held on October 25.

Yotova, who is 62, succeeded President Rumen Radev after he resigned in January to enter party politics. She has never been elected president. Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria coalition holds 131 of parliament’s 240 seats and backs her for a full term.

“The question that will outlast the result is not who wins, but whether the winner is willing to say no to prime minister Rumen Radev.”

The president’s powers are modest but real, including returning laws to parliament, referring them to the Constitutional Court, commanding the armed forces, and chairing the national security council. Radev’s majority can override a returned law with 121 votes, but that vote is on the record.

The campaign has been dominated by drone attacks on merchant ships off the Bulgarian and Romanian coasts since early October. At least seven ships have been hit, and more than two dozen sailors are dead or missing. Both governments suspect Russian involvement, though responsibility has not been conclusively established.

Yotova favors dialogue with Moscow and an end to military aid to Ukraine. Gyurov is backed by the pro-Western opposition. Political analysts describe the contest as a choice between an eastern, conservative vision and a western, liberal one.

Analysts say the runoff will be tighter than pre-election polls suggested. One expert called the first-round result a stinging electoral slap for Radev’s administration, citing Yotova’s unconvincing response to Russian threats in the Black Sea.