Bulgaria Presidential Election 2026: Iotova Faces Gyurov in a Runoff

Bulgaria will choose its next president in a runoff on Sunday 1 November 2026 between Iliana Iotova and Andrey Gyurov, who came first and second in the first round on 25 October. At 06:57 UK time on 27 October 2026, the versus page for Who will be Bulgaria's next president? showed 69.5p for Iotova, the market's estimate of a 69.5% chance that she wins; the same page showed 28.5p for Gyurov.

Iotova has been head of state since 23 January 2026, when she stepped up from vice president after Rumen Radev resigned, the presidency's biography says. On 1 November polls are open from 07:00 to 20:00 Bulgarian time, 05:00 to 18:00 UK time (GMT): Bulgaria is two hours ahead of the UK all year, and both moved to winter time on 25 October. Voters still queuing at 20:00 may vote until 21:00 (19:00 UK time), say the Central Election Commission's (CIK) answers for voters. This guide is for readers in Great Britain and is not advice.

Round one on the CIK's count

The CIK's results site shows data as at 15:00 Bulgarian time on 26 October (13:00 UK time), with 100% of polling-station protocols processed. Each of the 27 entries pairs a presidential candidate with a running mate, and the two leading pairs were nominated by initiative committees rather than parties:

• Iliana Iotova (Илияна Йотова) and Kiril Valchev: 528,929 votes, 34.759%.
• Andrey Gyurov (Андрей Гюров) and Georgi Kandev: 486,214 votes, 31.952%.
• Kostadin Kostadinov and Petar Volgin, for Vazrazhdane (ВЪЗРАЖДАНЕ): 190,894 votes, 12.545%.
• “I do not support anyone” (Не подкрепям никого): 67,353 votes, 4.426%. None of the other 24 pairs reached 5%.

The percentages are shares of all valid votes, which include ballots marked “I do not support anyone”. Worked out from them, Iotova led by 2.81 percentage points (42,715 votes). The CIK's turnout page stops at 16:00, at 15.95%; adding up the 32 regional summary protocols on the same site, 1,524,798 people voted at home and abroad, about 23% of those on the rolls.

Why there is a second round

Under Article 93 of the Constitution, a first-round winner needs more than half of the valid votes, with more than half of the voters taking part. Neither test was passed. The two candidates with the most votes then meet again within seven days, and whoever gets more votes is elected; Article 93 sets no turnout condition for that vote. The CIK's decision No. 415 of 26 October deals with the paper ballots for a possible new election on 1 November 2026, and the CIK's answers for voters say the same voting rules apply.

How our predictions settle

The live prediction, Who will be Bulgaria's next president?, settles on the listed name that wins this election, runoff included. The election result counts, not the oath in January: broad agreement among credible reports decides, and the CIK's official results settle any doubt. With no definite result by 05:59 Central European Time on 1 January 2028 (04:59 UK time, GMT), the rules send it to “Other”, which is not one of its 14 answers. Its end date is 00:00 UK time (GMT) on Monday 30 November 2026 (what market resolution means).

The answers and the ballot do not fully match. Eleven of the 14 names were not among the CIK's 27 pairs: Nikolai Denkov, Blagomir Kotsev, Rosen Zhelyazkov, Natalia Kiselova, Yanaki Stoilov, Krum Zarkov, Atanas Atanasov, Boyko Borissov, Delyan Peevski, Vassil Terziev and Rosen Plevneliev. Kostadin Kostadinov ran and finished third, so only the Iotova and Gyurov answers name runoff candidates.

The first-round predictions all showed as settled when we checked at 05:45 UK time on 27 October:

• Who tops Bulgaria's presidential first round? ranks candidates by valid first-round votes (settled since 06:02 UK time on 26 October). On the CIK's count Iotova was first.
• Will Bulgaria's president be elected without a runoff? needed both Article 93 tests passed in round one (settled since 04:52 UK time on 26 October). Neither was.
• Nine predictions put the first-round lead, in points of valid votes, into bands: Iotova first by under 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 30, 30 to 40 or 40 or more, or Gyurov first by under 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 30 or 30 or more. All nine settled between 04:52 and 09:45 UK time on 26 October.

Dates ahead, in UK time

• Tuesday 27 October: the CIK listed an online session for 09:00 Bulgarian time (07:00 UK time). Its result, which also designates the two runoff pairs, is due within 48 hours of the declared end of election day, 21:00 on 25 October (decision No. 413), so by Tuesday evening. It had not appeared when we last checked at 06:57 UK time, and it would confirm the pairing, not the winner.
• Sunday 1 November, 05:00 to 18:00: the runoff, with queues served until 19:00. This is the vote the live prediction turns on.
• Tuesday 3 November: the same 48-hour rule, counted from the end of runoff day, points to the CIK's result by that evening. Consistent reporting can settle the prediction sooner; if reports disagree, the CIK's figures decide.
• Within a month of the vote: the Constitutional Court rules on any challenge to the election's legality (Article 93). The prediction's rules do not mention the court; they rest on reporting and the CIK's results.
• Monday 30 November, 00:00: the live prediction's end date.
• January 2027: the oath before the National Assembly (Article 96). For each new term from 1997 to 2017, the presidency's list of presidents gives the oath on 19 January and office from 22 January. Radev's first five-year term began on 22 January 2017, so the second, won in November 2021 and served out by Iotova under Article 97, ends on 22 January 2027. The oath plays no part in settling the prediction.

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Frequently asked questions

When is Bulgaria's presidential runoff?

On Sunday 1 November 2026, a week after the first round. Polls open at 07:00 and close at 20:00 Bulgarian time, which is 05:00 to 18:00 UK time.

Who is in Bulgaria's runoff?

Iliana Iotova, with 34.759% of valid votes in the first round, and Andrey Gyurov, with 31.952%, on the CIK's count with every protocol processed. Nobody passed half of the vote, and fewer than one in four voters took part.

When does Bulgaria's new president take office?

In January 2027, after the oath before the National Assembly. The current term ends on 22 January 2027.

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