Bulgaria election exposes Ukraine war divide

SOFIA:

Bulgaria's President Iliana Iotova narrowly led the first round of presidential elections Sunday, exit polls showed, in a vote held amid security concerns following a series of drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea.

Iotova, who favours dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine, scored between 35 and 36.5 percent of the vote, according to three polls.

She will face Andrey Gyurov, a banker and former caretaker prime minister backed by the pro-Western opposition who came second with between 32.2 and 32.5 percent, in the November 1 runoff.

The result was closer than expected, with surveys ahead of the vote predicting a comfortable win for Iotova.

Turnout was only around 20 percent, according to the polls.

After casting her vote, Iotova said she wanted to address "the dire issue of poverty" in the EU's poorest member state, "alongside inequalities and regional disparities".

"I believe that there must be peace, stability, and security," added the 62-year-old, who has made the war in Ukraine a central theme of her campaign, promising to be a "president of peace".

Gyurov meanwhile said he wanted "a Bulgaria that looks forward, a country that is European, free, and proud... and where the state works as it should".

Four vessels were struck off Bulgaria's coast this month, leaving 21 people missing, in suspected spillover from the Russia-Ukraine war.

While Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the attacks appeared to serve Russian interests and summoned the Russian ambassador, his government insists there is so far no evidence directly linking Moscow to them.

Iotova took over this year as president of Bulgaria, a European Union and NATO member state, when Radev stepped down to run in parliamentary elections.