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Elections Abroad

Market Links poll puts Iotova and Valchev ahead in Bulgarian presidential race

By The Likely · Updated Oct 3, 7:01 AM ET · Drawn from 8 sources · Written by AI, checked against sources

A Market Links poll released on September 30 put Iliana Iotova and Kiril Valchev at 41.4% ahead of Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev at 21.9%. A first-round victory requires 50% turnout and 50% of the vote.

Why it mattersThe outcome decides the five-year presidency and tests public trust in Rumen Radev's government.

How we got here

  1. The official presidential-election campaign period began. Sofiaglobe
  2. The deadline for verifying candidates and their registration-support lists expired. Novinite
  3. The deadline for online applications to vote abroad expired; more than 35,500 applications had been submitted from 72 countries as of 1:30 p.m. Novinite
  4. A poll placed the Iotova-Valchev ticket ahead of the Gyurov-Kandev ticket. Sofiaglobe
  5. The CEC was expected to consult on the composition of overseas election commissions. Novinite
  6. Bulgaria scheduled its presidential election with polls opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 8 p.m. Sofiaglobe, Sofiaglobe
  7. A runoff was scheduled between the top two tickets if neither won the first round. Sofiaglobe

What's likely next

  1. Bulgaria holds the first round of the presidential election.
  2. A second round is scheduled if no ticket meets the first-round requirements.

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