In brief
Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission confirmed Iliana Yotova and Kiril Valchev’s victory in the second round with 57.581% of the vote, marking Yotova’s historic election as the first woman to hold the nation’s highest office. Official turnout, exit polls, and the upcoming inauguration are summarized. Uncertainties remain regarding final verification and potential updates before the scheduled inauguration.
Iliana Yotova and her running mate Kiril Valchev won Bulgaria’s presidential election with 57.581% of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission’s release on November 2. Their victory marks Yotova as the country’s first elected female president.
The Commission’s website reports that more than 1,093,000 people voted for the Yotova‑Valchev ticket. In contrast, the opposing pair of Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev received 39.467% of the vote, with roughly 750,000 ballots cast in their favor.
About 56,000 ballots, or 2.952% of the total, did not support either candidate. A remaining 0.05% of ballots is still being counted, but officials have stated that these will not alter the final outcome.
Voter turnout in the two‑round election was reported at approximately 26.8%. In the first round, turnout was lower, at 22.98%. The Interior Ministry has announced that no serious violations were recorded during the polling process.
The Commission will present final election results and detailed turnout data no later than November 4, following a re‑verification of the vote count.
Yotova and Valchev will take office as president‑elect and vice‑president‑elect on January 22, 2027, for a five‑year term.
Earlier on November 2, several media outlets reported that the official vote count had been released. TASS formatted the key facts about the election results and highlighted Yotova’s historic status as Bulgaria’s first female head of state.
Exit poll data released by the Trend survey on November 1 suggested that Yotova would secure 58.1% of the vote in the runoff. This figure is slightly higher than the official count but reflects a preliminary estimate rather than the final certified results.
The Anadolu Agency’s brief report confirmed Yotova’s victory and noted that Kiril Valchev would serve as vice president. It did not provide detailed numbers, but the report reinforced the outcome of the election.
The Commission’s release included specific vote counts: the Yotova‑Valchev ticket received more than 1,093,000 ballots, while the Gyurov‑Kandev ticket received just over 750,000. The remaining ballots accounted for a small fraction of the total.
According to the TASS report, the Commission’s website has set an official completion expectation for the entire vote count. Remaining ballots are anticipated to contain only a negligible percentage of votes, which will not influence the final tally.
The turnout statistic of 26.8% places the election in the middle range of Bulgarian presidential elections. In the first round, fewer voters participated, showing a slight increase when the runoff was held.
The Commission has received no complaints of irregularities, with the Interior Ministry confirming the absence of serious violations during the entire process.
While the official results are now publicly available, the re‑verification step scheduled for November 4 indicates that the Commission will conduct a final check before formally certifying the election outcome.
Once the Commission finalizes the results, Yotova’s inauguration will aim to take place on January 22, 2027, to commence a five‑year term for her and Valchev.
Readers are encouraged to monitor the Commission’s announcements after November 4 for any updates on the verification status or minute adjustments to the vote totals.
The Anadolu Agency’s tweet‑style statement reaffirms Yotova’s victory but does not add new numerical evidence to the official data provided by TASS.
In summary, the official records confirm Yotova and Valchev’s lead and the associated vote counts. The emergence of exit polls suggests minor variations, but the official figures remain the authority.
Key uncertainties highlighted by the sources involve the ongoing re‑verification process and whether any minor corrections will arise from that audit before Yotova’s inauguration. Additionally, the slight discrepancy between exit poll projections and certified results illustrates the difference between preliminary estimates and finalized counts.
