Nationalists Claim Decisive Role in Bulgarian Presidential Runoff
The nationalist party Vazrazhdane determined the final outcome of Bulgaria’s presidential runoff election, according to party leader Kostadin Kostadinov. Kostadinov stated that his political movement is now an inescapable factor in the country’s political landscape, btvnovinite.bg reported. Following the conclusion of the electoral day, Kostadinov stated that the primary conclusion to be drawn from the day is that the final result of the elections was decided by the voters of Vazrazhdane. The party leader’s statement was also disseminated by the press center of the party and published on Facebook. According to the exit poll results from the sociological agencies Trend and Myara commissioned by NOVA at 8:00 p.m., the presidential pair of Iliana Iotova and Kiril Valchev leads in the runoff of the presidential election, while their opponents Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev are currently losing the battle for Dondukov 2, making Iotova and Valchev the seventh presidential couple of Bulgaria.
Vazrazhdane Claims Power After First-Round Result
Kostadinov asserted that any political force failing to account for Vazrazhdane will lose future elections, even when backed by the combined potential of Continue the Change, Democratic Bulgaria, GERB, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, and several smaller parties. According to exit poll data from Alpha Research published by clubz.bg, 76 percent of voters who backed Kostadinov in the first round ultimately supported Iotova in the runoff. On the first tour, Kostadinov finished with 190,910 votes, representing 12.54 percent of the electorate, as detailed by Mediapool.bg, having run in the presidential election alongside European Parliament member Petar Volgin.
Voters Reject Opponent Rather Than Supporting Winner
The election result reflected a rejection of a specific candidate rather than genuine enthusiasm for the victor, Kostadinov argued in statements covered by nova.bg. Many Bulgarian citizens made their choice with the feeling that they had to select the lesser of two evils.
Criticism of Opposing Alliances and Low Turnout
Kostadinov questioned the support that Gyurov and Kandev received from GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, pointing to it as a sign that long-standing public divisions disappear in critical moments. Before the runoff, Kostadinov predicted that Vazrazhdane supporters would split their actions, with some abstaining, others voting with the “I don’t support anyone” option, and the remainder backing Iotova as a matter of free personal choice, according to Mediapool.bg. He further noted that when supposedly irreconcilable political opponents find themselves on the same side of an electoral battle, the public has the right to ask what unites them and in whose interest it happens, also characterizing the campaign of Gyurov and Kandev as weak, devoid of convincing messages, entirely infantile throughout, and pointing to an absolute collapse of the first-named candidate during the debate held prior to the runoff.
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