Russia supporter wins Bulgaria's presidential election

Iliana Iotova, the acting head of state and an ally of Prime Minister Rumen Radev, has won the second round of Bulgaria's presidential election.

Source: European Pravda, citing data from Bulgaria's Central Election Commission after 99.66% of the ballots had been counted

Details: Iotova received 57.66% of the vote, comfortably defeating her rival, pro-Western and pro-Ukrainian candidate and former prime minister Andrey Gurov, who was backed by 39.38% of voters.

Iotova has become the first woman to be elected president of Bulgaria.

She said that Gurov had called her to congratulate her on her victory. In her speech after the election results were announced, Iotova also criticised her opponents for what she called a "campaign of pressure".

"Despite all this pressure, despite all the hatred directed at these people, not one of them gave up, not one of them betrayed us. But today, through their votes, people said: 'No, that's not the way.' The right decisions can be made through dialogue, discussion, the search for solutions, cooperation and coordination with other institutions – not when your main message is to sabotage everyone else," the president said.

Background:

• Before the second round of the presidential election, Bulgaria's former president, former prime ministers and former ministers called on the public to vote for Gurov in the run-off.
• Iotova is a direct successor to Rumen Radev's political vision and approach to governance. She has served as his vice-president since his first term began in 2017.
• Following her victory, as European Pravda noted, the prime minister is expected to gain full control over Bulgaria's executive and legislative branches.

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