Nikita Shenderovsky09:35, 02.11.26

She will become the first woman in this position in the country’s history.

Iliana Yotova, an ally of the country’s current Prime Minister Rumen Radev, won the presidential election in Bulgaria , which took place this Sunday, BNTnews reports .

With 99.66% of the ballots counted, Yotova received 57.66% of the vote, significantly outpacing her rival, pro-Western former Prime Minister Andrei Gyurov, who had advocated supporting Ukraine. He received only 39.38% of the vote. Thus, Yotova became the first female president in the history of Bulgaria. After her victory, Yotova said that her opponents had used a “pressure campaign” against her.

“After this pressure, after this hatred that was poured out on these people, not one of them gave up, not one of them betrayed us,” she said.

The winner of Bulgaria’s presidential election, Yotova, has been a long-time ally of Radev. She has been his vice president since his first term in 2017.

What preceded this?

It should be noted that after Radev’s victory in the parliamentary elections, Bulgaria’s support for Ukraine significantly decreased. In particular, in October, this country refused to guarantee a new EU loan for Ukraine. Later, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia also joined Sofia.

Bulgaria also opposes some of the sanctions that the EU is imposing against Russia. In particular, Radev’s government blocked European sanctions against Patriarch Kirill, EuroNews reported.

(C)UNIAN 2026