Presidential election in Bulgaria: where is Jotova heading?

Ilijana Jotova wins the race: The second round of the Bulgarian presidential election on Sunday clearly went to the previous incumbent. After all ballot papers were counted, Jotowa got 57.5 percent. Her challenger Andrei Gyurow only received 39.4 percent of the vote. Voter turnout was just over 29 percent, almost 6 percent higher than in the first round of voting on October 25th.

According to the Central Election Commission, Yotova and her candidate for vice president, Kirill Valshev, were able to gain votes last Sunday not only in the capital Sofia, but also in the major cities of Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas. In Bulgaria's history as a member of the EU and NATO, the 62-year-old is the first woman to hold the highest state office.

Jotova was supported by Rumen Radev - president until last January and head of government since his victory at the head of the new Progressive Bulgaria party in the parliamentary elections in April.

At the joint press briefing on Sunday evening, it was Radew who answered the majority of the questions. "Bulgarians chose the future instead of the past. They chose peace, stability and normality." The defeated pro-European competitor Gyurov, however, stated that Bulgaria was now facing difficult times.

The ex-socialist Jotowa focused on foreign policy in her election campaign. She rejects aid for Kyiv and announced that no Bulgarian soldier would be sent to Ukraine under her aegis - a fictitious topic because this possibility does not currently exist at all. In contrast, she calls for a resumption of dialogue with Russia. "I don't see Russia as an enemy state. (…) I hope that Russia will contribute to Europe's future security architecture," she said in an interview on YouTube last week.

On Monday, Ursula von der Leyen also spoke up and congratulated Jotowa on her victory. “From security and defense to our competitiveness and energy independence, I look forward to continuing our work together,” wrote the President of the European Commission on X.

However, it remains to be seen how Sofia and Brussels will work together in the future. "If you say yes to everything - which was the case in Bulgaria for decades - then you no longer have a voice. But things have changed a lot," Yotova said in a televised debate with Andrei Gyurov. “Times have changed in the EU too.”