Iliyana Yotova leads Bulgarian presidential polls

A recent Gallup International Balkan poll indicates that Illyana Yotova and Kiril Valchev lead the Bulgarian presidential race with 44.9% support among decided voters. They hold a 20.1 percentage point lead over the second-place pair, Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev, who sit at 24.8%. Other candidates, including Kostadin Kostadinov and Petar Volgin, trail significantly with 10.9%.

The polling agency suggests a runoff between the top two pairs is the most likely scenario. However, experts warn that low voter turnout is a major concern. Expected turnout is estimated at approximately 35-36%, or between 2.3 and 2.4 million voters. Factors contributing to this low engagement include the quality of candidates, the use of machine voting, and the fact that the presidential election is being held independently without parallel parliamentary or local elections.

Krum Zarkov, leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and co-chairman of the committee supporting Yotova, expressed confidence in her victory. He noted that Yotova currently lacks a clearly defined opponent and emphasized her ability to maintain an independent institutional role. Zarkov also defended her recent convening of the Consultative Council for National Security, describing her position as balanced.