Bulgaria will head to a runoff vote on November 1 after a tight race between the two leading presidential candidates failed to produce an outright winner in Sunday's elections, which garnered record-low participation, official results showed, Reuters reports.
With 95% of the votes counted, incumbent Iliana Iotova, 61, attracted 34.6% against 32% for ex-caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov, 50, falling short of the 50% threshold for the largely ceremonial role in a race of 27 candidates.
Sunday's vote took on added significance after a series of drone attacks on merchant ships off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast that likely killed some two dozen international seafarers. However, only about 22% of the eligible voters showed up to cast their ballot, according to polling agencies.
The strikes, which sparked international condemnation and concerns about the growing reach of the war in Ukraine, prompted the government to seek allied assistance to bolster maritime security.
