Bulgaria's election heads to runoff after first-round voting

Bulgaria's next president will be elected in a runoff vote after a close race between the two main contenders ended inconclusively.

With almost all ballots counted, the Central Election Commission said that incumbent Iliana Yotova attracted 34.8 percent compared with 32 percent for opposition candidate Andrey Gyurov. While turnout must be above 50% of the 6.6 million eligible voters for a first-round victory, only 22% had cast their ballot, according to polling agencies.

Bulgarians voted against a backdrop of growing economic hardship and drone attacks on Black Sea shipping, which have left several sailors dead or missing. The vote was the first major test for the Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria party of Prime Minister Rumen Radev after its triumph in parliamentary elections in April. The party had endorsed Yotova.

Yotova is running as an independent, but she also has the official backing of Progressive Bulgaria and the Socialist Party, where her career began. If she wins, Yotova will become Bulgaria's first elected female president.

Yotova is expected to continue Radev's policy of keeping Bulgaria on its European path, while also calling for improved relations with Russia and the lifting of sanctions.