Bulgaria Elects Yotova
Iliana Yotova, who opposes military aid to Ukraine and calls herself "the president of peace," won Bulgaria's presidential runoff with 57.6% of the vote, putting the presidency and the government of an EU and NATO state on the Black Sea in the same camp.
Iliana Yotova in front of Bulgaria's coat of arms, January 2026.Illustration by The Good Times, based on a photo by President.bg / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5 BG)
Iliana Yotova won Bulgaria's presidential runoff with 57.56% of the vote to 39.48% for Andrey Gyurov, a pro-European candidate who backs Ukraine, the Central Election Commission said with all polling stations counted. She is the first woman elected president of Bulgaria. Turnout was between about 27% and 29%, by Bulgarian National Radio's and Balkan Insight's counts. Yotova, the sitting president, campaigned as "the president of peace" and ran with the backing of Prime Minister Rumen Radev, whose Progressive Bulgaria party won an absolute majority in parliament in April. She opposes military aid to Ukraine, and days before the vote she said she did not see Russia as an enemy and hoped it would be part of Europe's future security arrangements. Radev said Bulgarians had chosen peace. Bulgaria, an EU and NATO member, borders the Black Sea, where ships have been hit by drones off its coast in recent weeks.
With all polling station reports processed, the Central Election Commission gave Yotova 57.56% and Gyurov 39.48%, Bulgarian National Radio reported; Balkan Insight and DW rounded the result to 57.6% and 39.5%. Turnout was about 27% by Bulgarian National Radio's count and 29.1% by Balkan Insight's. Yotova is the first woman elected to the office, Bulgarian National Radio and the Associated Press reported.
Yotova campaigned as "the president of peace" with the support of Radev and Progressive Bulgaria, which won an absolute majority in the parliamentary election on April 19. She opposes further military aid to Ukraine, as does Radev. In an interview two days before the runoff she said Russia was not an enemy of Bulgaria and that she hoped it would be part of Europe's future security architecture. After the vote, Radev said Bulgarians had chosen peace.
Gyurov ran as a pro-European, pro-Ukraine candidate. Several ships have been hit by drones in the Black Sea off Bulgaria's coast in recent weeks. How far she moves Bulgaria's foreign policy is the question her term will answer.