Politics
Bulgarians vote for president as Black Sea drone strikes sharpen Ukraine divide
October 25, 2026 at 08:56 AM
Coverage
3 reports · 2 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 6 hours
يواليوم السابع
انتخابات بلغاريا تشتعل بين روسيا وأوكرانيا.. جولة إعادة تلوح في الأفق
(opens the publisher’s site)
AJAl Jazeera Arabic
انتخابات رئاسية في بلغاريا على وقع التوتر بالبحر الأسود وتصاعد تداعيات حرب أوكرانيا
(opens the publisher’s site)
AJAl Jazeera English
Bulgarians vote for president in shadow of Russia’s war in Ukraine
(opens the publisher’s site)Bulgarians voted Sunday in a presidential election overshadowed by deadly Black Sea drone attacks and a sharp divide over the Russia-Ukraine war.
- Polls placed acting President Iliana Iotova ahead at 41% and ex-caretaker PM Andrey Gyurov at 28% among 27 candidates, indicating a likely November 1 run-off.
- Drone strikes on merchant ships off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast likely killed some two dozen seafarers, prompting Sofia to seek allied maritime security assistance.
- Gyurov, backed by pro-Western reformist parties and a supporter of Ukraine, urged Bulgaria to be "a reliable NATO ally."
- Iotova, backed by Prime Minister Rumen Radev, called for a diplomatic end to the war through negotiations.