Bulgarian Acting President Iliana Yotova wins runoff election

Acting President Iliana Yotova won the runoff election to become Bulgaria's first elected female head of state and said she will work for national consensus by bridging political rifts.

With all the votes counted on Monday, the Bulgarian Central Election Commission said Yotova secured 57.6%, while the candidate of the liberal, pro-Western opposition, Andrey Gyurov, received 39.5%.

The vote was the first major test for Prime Minister Rumen Radev's Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria party, which endorsed Yotova. In April's parliamentary vote, the party won 131 of the 240 seats in Parliament, securing an outright majority.

Yotova is expected to continue Radev's policy of keeping Bulgaria on its European path while also supporting better relations with Russia and the lifting of sanctions.

Yotova has opposed further Bulgarian military assistance to Ukraine, repeatedly arguing that the conflict has no military solution and calling for a "coalition for peace" focused on diplomacy.