OMM Newsroom
Bulgaria’s incumbent President Iliana Yotova narrowly led the first round of the presidential election, with nearly all polling station results processed, preliminary figures released Monday showed, according to Anadolu Agency.
Yotova and her vice-presidential running mate Kiril Valchev received 34.759% of the vote, ahead of former Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov and his running mate Georgi Kandev, who won 31.953%, the Central Election Commission reported.
The figures covered 99.95% of polling station protocols from Sunday’s election. Some 4.4% of voters selected the “I do not support any candidate” option.
Neither ticket secured more than half of the vote, so the two leading pairs will compete in a runoff on Nov. 1. Turnout was approximately 22%, according to public broadcaster “Bulgarian National Radio”.
The election was Bulgaria’s eighth presidential vote since 1992. Participation was highest in the capital, Sofia, and lowest in Kardzhali province, which is home to a large ethnic Turkish population.
The commission is expected to announce the final first-round results on Tuesday.
