Bulgaria poll: President Iotova far ahead, runoff with Gyurov expected
Five days before Bulgaria's presidential election, a Sova Harris poll puts incumbent Iliana Iotova at 49.2% and Andrey Gyurov at 24.8%. Iotova would win a runoff with 65.8%, it found.
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Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova holds a commanding lead five days before Sunday's presidential election, according to a new Sova Harris poll. The survey found 49.2% of likely voters backing Iotova and her running mate Kiril Valchev, against 24.8% for Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev. Kostadin Kostadinov and Petar Volgin of the nationalist Vazrazhdane party were at 9.5%, and no other ticket topped 3.1%.
The pollster expects a runoff. In a head-to-head with Gyurov, Iotova would take 65.8% to 34.2%, and against Kostadinov 72.7% to 27.3%, the survey showed. Declared turnout stood at just 38.1%, about two points below the 2021 election.
Sova Harris interviewed 1,000 adults face to face in their homes from Oct. 13 to 17 for the newspaper Trud news, with a maximum margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. According to the poll, 45.2% expect the government to ensure a fair vote, while 24% doubt it. Nearly half of respondents said the president should act as a check on the government.