Bulgaria votes for president after deadly Black Sea strikes

Bulgarians voted Sunday for a new president, with acting president Iliana Iotova leading in polls and a Nov. 1 runoff considered likely, weeks after drone strikes on merchant ships off the country’s Black Sea coast likely killed about two dozen foreign seafarers.

The presidency is largely ceremonial, but the president commands the armed forces, can veto legislation, signs international treaties and appoints ambassadors, Al Jazeera reported. With 27 candidates on the ballot, Alpha Research polling put Iotova at 41 per cent and former caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov at 28 per cent, Reuters and Al Jazeera reported.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time and closed at 8 p.m. (1 p.m. ET). A candidate needs a majority to win outright. Al Jazeera reported that analysts expect no one to clear that bar, and that turnout, which must exceed 50 per cent of the 6.6 million registered voters to validate the vote, is expected to fall below 40 per cent. No results had been published when this story was written.

Iotova, 61, has been acting president since January, when Rumen Radev resigned to run in the parliamentary race, which he won. Radev is now prime minister and backs her. Reuters reported that a win would make her Bulgaria’s first elected female president.

Gyurov, 50, is backed by pro-Western, reformist parties and has long supported Ukraine. As prime minister he signed a security cooperation agreement with Kyiv, Reuters reported. “I want Bulgaria to have a voice of its own in Europe,” he told a rally on Thursday.

Iotova and Radev call for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine. “My opponents argue that there must be a war of attrition,” Iotova said at a Thursday rally. “The truth is, we are all the ones who are most exhausted.” Pollster Dobromir Zhivkov told Al Jazeera that her camp is calling for an end to aid and a halt to arms deliveries to Ukraine.

The ship attacks have pushed security to the centre of the campaign. Both leading candidates condemned the strikes, Reuters reported, but the government has not directly accused Russia. Radev said the outcome of the attacks “benefits the Russian Federation.” The government has sought allied help to strengthen maritime security. Our earlier report covered how NATO sent aircraft and drones to the Black Sea after the ship attacks.

Voters are also worried about rising energy prices, inflation and hardship in rural areas, Al Jazeera reported. Bulgaria is a European Union member, and inflation in the euro zone reached 3.8 per cent last month, as we reported on Oct. 20.

For Canadians, Bulgaria is a NATO ally, and the president’s stance on Ukraine and defence will shape how Sofia deals with its allies, including Canada. Canadians travelling to Bulgaria can check Global Affairs Canada’s advisory at travel.gc.ca.

If no candidate wins a majority, the top two will meet in a runoff on Nov. 1.

Via Reuters and Al Jazeera. Read the original Al Jazeera report.

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