Bulgaria by-elections: polls close as first new mayor is confirmed
In Dragomazh, sole candidate Nurgin Basri of the DPS has won. Turnout in Malorad reached 59 percent, while only 11 percent voted in Malo Konare.
Symbolic image · Photo: OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from Copenhagen, Denmark / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Voting has ended in the 14 Bulgarian localities that elected new mayors on Sunday. The first result came from the village of Dragomazh in Isperih municipality, where the local election commission said Nurgin Basri of the DPS is the new mayor. The sole candidate received 101 votes; 110 of 264 eligible voters cast ballots (41.67 percent).
In Malorad, a village in Borovan municipality that gained national notoriety after ballots were tampered with in the 2023 election, 834 of 1,409 eligible voters cast ballots, a turnout of 59.19 percent, according to the municipal election commission. Five candidates are vying for the post, vacated after the previous mayor's mandate was ended over a final court verdict. No results were available yet.
Interest was far lower elsewhere: in the village of Malo Konare near Pazardzhik, only 346 of 3,109 eligible voters took part (11.13 percent). In Polski Trambesh municipality, where acting mayor Rosen Rusanov is the only candidate, turnout stood at 10.54 percent at 4 p.m.
Sources
- BTA, Нургин Басри от ДПС е новият кмет на село Драгомъж в община Исперих, съобщиха от ОИК, 18.10.2026
- BTA, В борованското село Малорад избирателната активност на частичните местни избори е била 59,19%, 18.10.2026
- BTA, Частичните избори за кмет на пазарджишкото село Мало Конаре приключиха с малко над 11% избирателна активност, 18.10.2026
- BNT, След скандалния случай "Чичо Цено" - отново избори в Малорад, 18.10.2026
- 24 Chasa, Рекордно ниска активност за избора на нов кмет в Полски Тръмбеш, 18.10.2026