Iliana Iotova has made history as Bulgaria’s first popularly elected female president. Having initially assumed the office following her predecessor’s resignation, she has now secured her own electoral mandate, winning approximately 58% of the vote, compared with around 39% for her pro-European rival, Andrey Gyurov.
Iliana Iotova has won a historic runoff, becoming the first woman to be elected president in Bulgaria’s history. In the second round of voting on Sunday, 1 November 2026, Iotova secured almost 58 per cent of the vote, defeating her rival, former caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov, who received just under 40 per cent, according to results reported by the Central Election Commission.
Iotova has been head of state since January 2026, when Rumen Radev resigned the presidency to enter parliamentary politics. Having previously served as Radev’s vice-president, she succeeded him automatically under the constitution.
Although Bulgarian women have previously held senior political office, none had been directly elected president before Iliana Iotova. The poet Blaga Dimitrova, associated with the Union of Democratic Forces, served as vice-president from 1992 to 1993. Reneta Indzhova, a political independent, became the country’s first and, to date, only female prime minister as head of a caretaker government between October 1994 and January 1995. Margarita Popova, a GERB politician and former justice minister, served as vice-president from 2012 to 2017 as the running mate of President Rosen Plevneliev.
Iotova’s victory therefore marks a significant milestone in Bulgaria’s political history and for women’s political representation in the country: she has become Bulgaria’s first popularly elected female head of state.
Aged 62, Iotova has had a long career in public life. She began as a journalist before entering politics and later served as a member of the European Parliament. During her time in Brussels, she was a substitute member of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and supported initiatives promoting women’s leadership and political participation.
Yet gender representation was not the central issue in the presidential campaign. The election was shaped primarily by competing positions on Russia, the war in Ukraine, and Bulgaria’s place in the European security order. In the weeks before the runoff, drone attacks on merchant vessels in the Black Sea, off Bulgaria’s coast, intensified concerns about the regional consequences of the war.
The two candidates offered sharply different approaches to the conflict. Iotova favours diplomatic engagement with Moscow and opposes further military assistance to Ukraine, presenting herself as a candidate for peace. Her rival, Andrey Gyurov, a pro-Western former caretaker prime minister, has consistently supported Ukraine and argued for closer cooperation with European partners. Both candidates condemned the attacks on merchant vessels.
Although both candidates stood as independents, they represented distinct political traditions. Iotova’s candidacy was rooted in the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the successor to Bulgaria’s former ruling Communist Party. She began her political career in the BSP, served as an MP for the party and later represented Bulgaria in the European Parliament. Her campaign was formally nominated by an initiative committee, but was backed by the BSP and Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria.
Gyurov, by contrast, came from the liberal, pro-European reformist opposition. A former MP for We Continue the Change (PP), he was backed by PP, Democratic Bulgaria, Yes, Bulgaria and Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria. His political tradition emphasises anti-corruption reform, closer integration with the European Union and a firm pro-Western security policy.
These party backgrounds help explain why the election became a referendum on Bulgaria’s geopolitical direction. Iotova’s coalition united the socialist left and Radev’s governing movement around a more cautious approach to Russia and opposition to further military aid for Ukraine. Gyurov’s coalition represented the liberal, strongly pro-European opposition, which regards deeper integration with the EU and NATO as essential to Bulgaria’s security.
During the campaign, Iotova emphasised Bulgaria’s place in Europe while also stressing the importance of an independent foreign policy. Speaking after casting her vote, she said that Bulgaria should be strong within a strong Europe, but added that the country must also have “its own foreign policy”, according to media reports.
Iotova’s win should nevertheless be understood in the context of Bulgaria’s parliamentary system and the limited powers of its presidency. The president is head of state, represents Bulgaria internationally and serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but executive authority over domestic and foreign policy rests primarily with the prime minister and the Council of Ministers. The president can return legislation to parliament (a suspensive veto), but parliament may override it with an absolute majority of all MPs.
Low voter participation further complicates the interpretation of the result. Turnout in the runoff was below 30 per cent. This was higher than in the first round on 25 October, when only around 23 per cent of voters took part, the lowest turnout in a Bulgarian presidential election since the end of communist rule. The low participation raises questions about the breadth of Iotova’s political mandate, even though she won decisively.