Acting President Iotova Leads Bulgarian Presidential Run-off in Exit Polls

Bulgaria's acting president, Iliana Iotova, led the presidential run-off held on November 1, 2026, according to exit polls. Al Jazeera reported that three exit polls cited by the Bulgarian news agency BTA gave her about 51 percent, against about 44 percent for her opponent, Andrey Gyurov. Official results are expected on Monday, November 2.

The Hindu put the range more precisely: three exit polls projected Iotova at between 50.7 and 52.5 percent, and Gyurov at between 43.4 and 44 percent. Exit polls are surveys of voters taken as they leave polling stations, and they are not final counts.

Iotova, 61, took over as acting president in January 2026, after Rumen Radev resigned to run in a parliamentary election. She is the candidate of Bulgaria's ruling centre-left party. If her win is confirmed, she would become the country's first elected female president.

In the first round, held earlier this autumn, Iotova won 35 percent and Gyurov won 32 percent. Turnout in that round was 23 percent, a level described as a record low. Exit polls put turnout in the run-off at roughly 27 to 29 percent.

Gyurov is 50 years old. He is a banker and a former caretaker prime minister, and he is backed by the pro-Western opposition. A caretaker prime minister is a leader who serves temporarily while a new government is formed.

Iotova has argued for dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine, positions that have set her apart from many of her Western partners in the campaign.

Separately, 21 people remained missing as of November 1 after drone attacks on commercial vessels off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.