Yotova becomes Bulgaria’s first elected female president
Acting President Iliana Yotova won Sunday’s run-off with 57.6% of the vote against 39.5% for the liberal Andrey Gyurov, who conceded. Yotova said she had voted “for national consensus through dialogue, for institutions that work for citizens”. She will be inaugurated on 22 January for a five-year term.
Yotova, 62, has been acting president since January, when Rumen Radev stepped down to run for parliament; his Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria won 131 of 240 seats in April. She opposes further military aid to Ukraine while professing commitment to a European path. Ursula von der Leyen congratulated her: “For a strong Bulgaria in a strong Europe.” Sofia now joins the cluster of EU capitals sceptical of Ukraine support — even as ISW reports Russian forces lost ground in October for a second consecutive month.