In the first official count from the November 1, 2026 presidential runoff, Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission (CEC) released preliminary results showing incumbent President Iliana Iotova and her vice‑presidential running mate Kiril Valchev leading with 57.95% of the vote. The figures are based on 52.42% of the tally sheets processed by district election commissions, according to the CEC’s website published on November 2, 2026.
The same CEC data lists the challenger pair—Andrey Gurov and Georgi Kandev—as receiving 39.01% of the vote, or 390,988 votes, while 3.04% (30,473 voters) selected “None of the above.” The cumulative vote totals published were 580,918 for Iotova‑Valchev and 390,988 for Gurov‑Kandev.
Earlier the same day, the CEC was noted to add more results to its “Supplementary Videos” list that had various percentages from parallel counts by polling agencies, but the official numbers remained the same.
Background: The 2014 Interim Results
A similar snapshot appeared in the 2014‑07‑17 TASS report, in which the Bulgarian Central Election Commission had released an early tally from the second round of the presidential election. At that time, Iotova and Valchev were reported to lead with 57.943% of the vote, while their opponents Gurov and Kandev had 39.007% based on only 17.39% of the protocols processed.
The 2014 announcement highlighted the logistical challenges of counting millions of ballots and the need for additional time as more protocols were completed. That earlier estimate, published at 11:00 p.m. local time (09:00 p.m. GMT), also underscored how the vote share can shift as more voting data is incorporated.
Open Questions and Next Steps
Observers note that only slightly more than half of the tally sheets were processed when the CEC published the November 2 numbers. The central question now is whether the vote share will remain stable—or shift—as the remaining 47.58% of tallies are counted.
Political analysts suggest that the final outcome may hinge on rural precincts, where turnout patterns have historically differed from urban centers. However, the CEC has yet to disclose whether any mechanical or human errors have impacted the relay of ballots between local commissions and the central office.
While the CEC’s website lists the “None of the above” category, there is no public clarification yet as to how those votes are classified or whether they could influence the final tally under any legal provisions.
The CEC has stated that it will continue to publish updates as more tallies are processed and plan to finalize the results by the end of the week, per national election law. Watching the unfolding numbers will be crucial for confirming whether Iotova’s 57.95% lead holds through the official count.
