Presidential elections in Bulgaria, outgoing president Yotova wins

He obtained 58.2% of the votes, according to the projection of the Miara opinion polling agency. The pro-European Andrey Ghiurov, supported by the liberals of Democratic Bulgaria with allies from the 'Continue the Change' party, instead stopped at 38.6%

In Bulgaria, the outgoing head of state Yliana Yotova won the presidential run-off: she obtained 58.2% of the votes, according to the projection of the Miara opinion polling agency. The pro-European Andrey Ghiurov, supported by the liberals of Democratic Bulgaria with allies from the 'Continue the Change' party, instead stopped at 38.6%. The remaining percentage of voters instead chose the "I'm not voting for anyone" box. As in the first round, however, the turnout was very low: just over 29% of those entitled to vote had voted at 7pm local time, one hour before the polls closed.

Who is the new president

Yotova, 62, is a journalist and activist of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, MEP from 2007 to 2017, vice-president of Bulgaria from 2017 to last January, when she replaced Rumen Radev. He then sensationally resigned to stand in the political elections, held in April, at the head of a new party, promising an all-out fight against corruption and organized crime. During the election campaign, Yotova did not question Bulgaria's membership of the EU and NATO, but underlined that in foreign policy we must be pragmatic and that to resolve the conflict in Ukraine we must "resort to diplomacy and not to weapons".

Von der Leyen: “Congratulations to Yotova”

"Congratulations to Iliana Yotova on her victory in the presidential elections. From security and defense to our competitiveness and energy independence, I look forward to continuing our joint work. For a strong Bulgaria in a strong Europe." Ursula von der Leyen writes it on X.