Exit Poll: Iliana Iotova is Bulgaria’s New President

Incumbent Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova has won the presidential election, according to the first results released by the two polling agencies partnering with the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) in its coverage of the presidential and vice-presidential vote.

The results of the exit poll conducted by Myara as of 8 p.m. on 1 November 2026 show the following distribution of votes between the two candidate tickets in the second round of the election:

Iliana Yotova - Kiril Valchev: 51 % of the votes;

Andrey Gyurov - Georgi Kandev: 44.7 %;

“I do not support any candidate”: 4.3 %.

Voter turnout: 26.8 %.

According to the exit poll conducted by Alpha Research, as of 8 p.m. the Iiana Iotova - Kiril Valchev ticket is in the lead with 52.5 % % of the vote. Andrey Gyurov - Georgi Kandev remain in second place with 43,4 %.

“I do not support any candidate”: 4,1 %.

Voter turnout: 29,1 %.

A total of 27 candidate tickets entered the race for the Bulgarian presidency. Following the first-round results, the two tickets that received the highest number of votes qualified for the run-off: Iliana Iotova - Kiril Valchev and Andrey Gyurov - Georgi Kandev. Both were nominated by initiative committees.

Bulgarian citizens living abroad are also taking part in the second round, voting at polling stations in 60 countries. Voting abroad began at 8 p.m. Bulgarian time on 31 October, with the opening of the polling station in Auckland, New Zealand. The election will conclude with voting on the US West Coast, where polling stations are due to close at 6 a.m. Bulgarian time on 2 November.

The President of Bulgaria is elected for a five-year term.

Since the beginning of the country's democratic transition, the highest voter turnout in a presidential election was recorded in the 1992 run-off, when with voter turnout of 75.90% Zhelyu Zhelev became Bulgaria’s first democratically elected president in free elections.

Edited by Miglena Ivanova