On September 25, Bulgaria’s presidential election campaign officially started with 27 registered pairs of candidates running for the presidency ahead of elections on October 25.
The campaign for Bulgaria’s presidential election began at midnight on Friday, kicking off a 30-day period of campaigning prior to the election of the country’s next president and vice president.
Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has set October 25, 2026, as the date for the elections. The commission has registered 27 pairs of presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the contest.
The campaign will run until midnight Oct. 23, according to the schedule set by the CEC. Two days later will be election day. If no pair of candidates receives the necessary number of votes for election in the first round, a second can be held on November 1.
The registered candidates include Bulgaria’s Vice President, Iliana Iotova, who is running for president in this election. Iotova and VP candidate Kiril Valchev were registered as an independent ticket by the CEC.
One of the other leading tickets is that of former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, who is campaigning for the presidency with Georgi Kandev. The duo declared their candidacy in September, prior to registering with the electoral authorities.
Polling quoted by Bulgarian National Radio and Anadolu Agency shows Iotova and Gyurov are among the top contenders as they start the campaign. Polling numbers may fluctuate throughout the campaign and are not a predictor of the outcome.
The unusually large field features candidates nominated by political parties and independent candidates supported by initiative committees. The CEC has released the lists of registered candidates and the order of ballot after a public draw on September 23.
The campaign’s opening also ushers in new standards for election coverage. The Council for Electronic Media and the Central Election Commission of Bulgaria have reached an agreement on a system of monitoring of the public-service and commercial broadcasters during the campaign. Monitoring covers aspects of objectivity, balanced coverage, paid political content, and hate speech and incitement to violence.
The election follows Bulgaria’s ongoing debate on the country’s path in domestic and foreign policy. Issues to be expected in the campaign will be Bulgaria’s role in the European Union and NATO, economic development, security and Bulgaria’s stance on the war in Ukraine.
The next few weeks will be the voters’ best chance to look at the candidates’ positions and platforms before Oct. 25. The outcome will decide the next term of Bulgaria’s Presidency.
