Bulgaria presidential election on 25 October has 27 candidates

Who is running

Twenty-seven pairs of candidates for president and vice-president are in the race. Iliana Iotova has been president since 23 January 2026. She was vice-president from 2017 and, until 2016, a member of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. A nomination committee, not a party, put her forward. Progressive Bulgaria, the coalition built by Prime Minister Rumen Radev, supports her. Her running mate is Kiril Valchev, head of the Bulgarian News Agency.

Andrey Gyurov was caretaker prime minister from 19 February to 8 May 2026. He announced his candidacy on 1 September, and two opposition parties, Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria, expressed support for him. He calls for a state that relies on capable people and for a knowledge-based economy.

Kostadin Kostadinov leads Vazrazhdane, the only party in parliament to nominate its own leader. He announced his candidacy on 22 September. His running mate is Petar Volgin, a member of the European Parliament.

How the vote works

Polling stations in Bulgaria open at 7:00 and close at 20:00 local time on 25 October. Voting can continue until 21:00 where voters are still waiting.

A candidate wins in the first round with more than half of the valid votes, provided more than half of all voters take part. If nobody does, the two candidates with the most votes meet in a runoff on 1 November. The president's powers are relatively limited.

How the race got here

Rumen Radev resigned as president on 19 January 2026, a year before the end of his term. The Constitutional Court confirmed the resignation on 23 January, and Iotova, then vice-president, became the first woman to serve as president of Bulgaria.

Progressive Bulgaria won an outright majority in an early parliamentary election on 19 April 2026, and Radev became prime minister. On 31 July parliament set the presidential election for 25 October. The campaign began on 25 September and ends at midnight on 23 October.

What happens next

The Central Election Commission, the body that runs the vote, must announce the final results within three days. If a runoff is needed, it is held on 1 November. The winner takes over when the current presidential term ends on 22 January 2027.