Ileana Yutova wins the Bulgarian presidential election Bulgarian incumbent President Ileana Yutova won the second round today against pro-Western former Prime Minister Andrey Girov, according to a parallel vote count. Reviewers Alpha Research, Miara and Magma place it at 57% to 59%, with Miara and Magma giving Girov about 38%. Official results are expected within three days. Yutova is not openly pro-Russian, but is in favor of dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine. She said that more weapons and money to Kiev only lead to more destruction and death, and that peace can only come through negotiations that include Russia. She called her opponents "warmongers" who want Russia to surrender, and promised that no Bulgarian troops would go to Ukraine. She said she would talk to Putin if she had a mandate from the Bulgarian state and the national consensus. AP expects her to support better relations with Russia and the lifting of sanctions, while keeping Bulgaria on its European path. Yatova, who served as vice president under Roman Radev, assumed the presidency in January when he resigned to run in snap parliamentary elections. Radev, now prime minister and skeptical of support for Ukraine, backed it through his Progressive Party in Bulgaria, so the win keeps the presidency in the hands of the ruling majority. She becomes the first woman directly elected president of Bulgaria. The percentage of voting was only about 29%, after a record low in the first round.

Ileana Yutova wins the Bulgarian presidential election Bulgarian incumbent President Ileana Yutova won the second round today against pro-Western former Prime Minister Andrey Girov, according to a parallel vote count. Reviewers Alpha Research, Miara and Magma place it at 57% to 59%, with Miara and Magma giving Girov about 38%. Official results are expected within three days. Yutova is not openly pro-Russian, but is in favor of dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine. She said that more weapons and money to Kiev only lead to more destruction and death, and that peace can only come through negotiations that include Russia. She called her opponents "warmongers" who want Russia to surrender, and promised that no Bulgarian troops would go to Ukraine. She said she would talk to Putin if she had a mandate from the Bulgarian state and the national consensus. AP expects her to support better relations with Russia and the lifting of sanctions, while keeping Bulgaria on its European path. Yatova, who served as vice president under Roman Radev, assumed the presidency in January when he resigned to run in snap parliamentary elections. Radev, now prime minister and skeptical of support for Ukraine, backed it through his Progressive Party in Bulgaria, so the win keeps the presidency in the hands of the ruling majority. She becomes the first woman directly elected president of Bulgaria. The percentage of voting was only about 29%, after a record low in the first round.