Bulgaria: heading for a tight second round between the outgoing president Iliana Iotova, who is in favor of dialogue with Russia, and her pro-European opponent, Andreï Guiourov

The first round of the Bulgarian presidential election on October 25 revealed unexpected results. Incumbent president Iliana Iotova leads with only 34.7% of the votes, falling short of pre-election polls predicting 40-47%. Her main opponent, pro-European Andreï Guiourov, closely follows with 32%. Voter turnout was historically low at 22%, marking the highest abstention rate since the 1992 presidential election. Discontent with the government appears to have impacted Iotova's performance, despite support from Prime Minister Roumen Radev and her party, Bulgaria Progressive, which had previously secured an absolute majority in parliamentary elections.