Bulgaria's incumbent president projected to win in runoff-Xinhua - 新华网

SOFIA, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria's incumbent President Iliana Iotova won Sunday's presidential runoff, according to partial results published by the country's electoral commission on Monday.

With over 99 percent of the ballots counted, Iotova, running with Kiril Valchev as her vice-presidential candidate, won 57.6 percent of the vote.

Their rivals, former Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov and his running mate Georgi Kandev, received nearly 39.4 percent of the vote.

About 3 percent of the voters chose "I don't support anyone."

Official results are expected by Wednesday at the latest. Under the Bulgarian Constitution, the candidate receiving the most votes in the runoff wins, regardless of voter turnout.

Voters directly elect the Bulgarian president for a five-year term. Iotova's term will expire at the end of January 2027.

Iotova, 62, was elected vice president alongside Rumen Radev in the 2016 and 2021 presidential elections. She succeeded Radev as head of state after he resigned in January, in accordance with the country's Constitution.

Valchev is the director general of the Bulgarian News Agency. ■