Iotova-Valchev lead in poll ahead of October 25 presidential election

The presidential ticket of Iliana Iotova and Kiril Valchev  has the support of 41.4% of voters ahead of the upcoming elections on October 25, according to initial voting-intention data from a national poll jointly commissioned and funded by Market Links and bTV. The survey covered 1,006 people through interviews and an online questionnaire.

Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev rank second with 21.9%, followed by Kostadin Kostadinov and Petar Volgin with 6.4%. They are followed by Ivelin Mihaylov with 3.9%, Radostin Vasilev with 1.6%, and Ivan Hristanov with 0.9%, while other candidates account for a combined 3.7%. A total of 27 presidential and vice-presidential tickets will take part in the election.

“The record number of registered candidates does not, in fact, indicate a particularly significant fragmentation of voters in different directions. We are seeing once again a focus on the leading groups and the best-known presidential tickets,” Dobromir Zhivkov of Market Links told bTV.

Between 40% and 45% of Bulgarians say they intend to vote for president.

The poll also shows that confidence in the government led by Rumen Radev has declined from 50% in May to 39%, while distrust has increased from 24% to 40%.

Edited by Diana Tsankova