In brief
Iliana Yotova and Kiril Valchev won Bulgaria’s presidential runoff with 57.581% of the vote, as reported by TASS, marking the first time a woman has been elected to the country’s top post. Exit polls prior to the vote had estimated 58.1% for Yotova in a Trend survey. Yotova announced her victory on November 1, and the official results confirmed a turnout of approximately 26.8%.
Russia’s TASS news agency reported on 22 January 2027 that Iliana Yotova and her running mate, Kiril Valchev, secured victory in Bulgaria’s presidential election, receiving 57.581% of the vote in the second round and becoming the first woman ever to hold the country’s highest office. The results were announced by Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission and confirmed a turnout of roughly 26.8% of eligible voters.
Official Results
The Central Election Commission’s published figures show Yotova and Valchev amassing more than 1,093,000 votes, while Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev together received 39.467% of the vote, about 750,000 votes. The commission noted that 2.952% of ballots—roughly 56,000 votes—did not support either ticket. The remaining 0.05% of ballots would not affect the final outcome, according to TASS’s report.
In a statement, the commission highlighted that Iliana Yotova would become Bulgaria’s first female president, and her vice‑presidential partner, Kiril Valchev, would assume the office of vice president for the five‑year term beginning on 22 January 2027. Yotova thanked all voters, including supporters from the Progressive Bulgaria party, as noted by TASS.
TASS also recorded that, during the election period, the Bulgarian Interior Ministry reported no serious violations. The commission said it would present the official vote count and turnout data by no later than 4 November, following a re‑verification of the ballots.
Exit Poll Forecast
An Anadolu Ajansı report, citing a Trend survey, indicated that exit polls placed Iliana Yotova on track to win the runoff before the formal count, estimating her at 58.1% of the vote. The survey’s findings were published within hours after the election, though the full article was not available in the final version accessed by search. The trend data suggested a slight advantage over the official results, suggesting that initial voter sentiment favored Yotova by a noticeable margin.
Following the official announcement, Iliana Yotova confirmed her victory on 1 November through a public statement that was shared on the cryptocurrency platform Binance’s social media posts. The statement declared her successful election as Bulgaria’s seventh president, emphasizing her gratitude for the electorate’s support and announcing her intention to take office during the upcoming inauguration.
When comparing the two accounts, TASS provides the definitive vote counts, while the Anadolu Ajansı source offers a contemporaneous exit‑poll forecast. Both sources agree on Yotova’s overall win and the newly established record of a female president, but they differ slightly in the reported vote share—57.581% in the official tally versus 58.1% in the exit‑poll survey. No contradictions are noted regarding the legitimacy of the election or the absence of major irregularities, creating a consensus that Yotova’s victory was broadly accepted across multiple media outlets.
