Exit polls put Bulgaria's acting president Iliana Iotova ahead of Andrey Gyurov in Sunday's presidential runoff, with official results still pending. Surveys by several polling organisations gave Iotova about 52% of the vote, against around 44% for Gyurov. Some outlets spell her name Yotova.

What the exit polls show

An Alpha Research exit poll put Iotova on 52.5% against 43.4% for Gyurov, while other exit polls gave her between 50.7% and 52.5%. Early partial-count projections reported by Spanish media, based on about a fifth of ballots counted, pointed to a wider lead, but those are projections, not a certified result. Partial official results were expected later on Sunday, and the Central Election Commission must announce final results within three days, according to the Associated Press account and Reuters reporting.

Why the result matters

If confirmed, Iotova, 62, would become Bulgaria's first elected female head of state. She took over the presidency in January, when Rumen Radev stepped down to run for parliament, and is seeking her own elected mandate. Iotova favours dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine, while Gyurov, a former caretaker prime minister backed by pro-Western opposition parties, ran on the opposite foreign-policy line. The vote was the first major test for Prime Minister Radev's Progressive Bulgaria party, which endorsed Iotova.

Low turnout and a first round with no winner

The runoff followed an inconclusive first round on 25 October, when none of 27 candidate pairs passed half the votes cast. Iotova finished first with about 35% and Gyurov second with about 32%, on a historic-low first-round turnout of 23%. Exit-poll estimates put runoff turnout at roughly 27% to 29%, still low, though no final certified turnout figure has been published. Iotova's term, if she wins, would begin when the current presidential term ends on 22 January 2027.