Divided Bulgaria votes in tense presidential runoff

Bulgaria held a presidential runoff election on Sunday, following a series of drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea. President Iliana Iotova, who advocates for dialogue with Russia and opposes military aid to Ukraine, faced Andrey Gyurov, a banker and former caretaker prime minister supported by the pro-Western opposition.

Iotova received 35% of the vote in the first round, while Gyurov garnered 32%, a much narrower gap than initially predicted by pollsters. The first round saw a record-low turnout of just 23%. The attacks in the Black Sea, which left 21 people missing, are suspected to be a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Iotova, a longtime ally of PM Rumen Radev, supports Bulgaria's membership in the EU and NATO and promotes herself as a "president of peace," advocating for negotiations with Russia.

Gyurov criticized Iotova for not directly blaming Russia for the Black Sea attacks and argued that peace could only be achieved through negotiations and a ceasefire in Ukraine. Iotova, who became Bulgaria's vice-president in 2016 and 2021, is set to become the country's first female president if she wins the runoff.