Former Bulgarian Leaders Endorse Andrey Gyurov Ahead of Runoff

A coalition of former Bulgarian prime ministers, presidents, and senior officials has endorsed Andrey Gyurov and his running mate Georgi Kandev ahead of the November 1 presidential runoff. In an open letter released October 30, signatories including Boyko Borissov, Nikolay Denkov, and Ivan Kostov warned that Bulgaria faces a "national catastrophe" and international isolation if Gyurov is not elected to serve as a political counterweight to the current administration.

The group accused incumbent President Rumen Radev and runoff candidate Iliana Yotova of mirroring Kremlin positions and underestimating security threats from Russia, specifically regarding drone attacks in the Black Sea. They argued that these policies jeopardize Bulgaria's standing within NATO and the European Union.

Gyurov enters the runoff trailing Yotova by 2.81 percentage points following the October 25 first-round vote, where Yotova received 34.7 percent and Gyurov received 31.9 percent. The first round was marked by a record-low turnout of 22.98 percent. While Yotova advocates for balanced diplomatic relations with Russia to maintain regional peace, Gyurov is supported by pro-EU parties.

The campaign has been further strained by accusations that Rumen Radev's government used official channels to promote Yotova and interfered with satirical social media pages. Yotova has countered by criticizing Gyurov's past gas-diversification policies and a 10-year agreement with Ukraine, while the opposition has highlighted Yotova's pardoning of convicted drug dealers.