Final polls before the vote: Yotova clearly ahead, gap to Gyurov narrowing
Several pollsters see President Yotova clearly ahead before the first round. But Trend and Alpha Research see her lead over challenger Gyurov shrinking.
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Video: YouTube · bTV Media Group · youtube.com
Shortly before Sunday's presidential election, several polling agencies published their final figures. According to Trend (fieldwork Oct. 14–20, 1,002 respondents), the ticket of Iliana Yotova and Kiril Valchev stands at 45.9 percent, Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev at 27.8 percent, and Kostadin Kostadinov with Petar Volgin at 10.9 percent. The gap between the two front-runners has narrowed from almost 23 points at the end of September to 18 points, Bulgaria ON AIR reported. A runoff between Yotova and Gyurov is therefore considered certain.
Gallup International Balkan puts Yotova and Valchev at 43.2 percent, Gyurov and Kandev at 29.7 percent and Kostadinov and Volgin at 12.4 percent, bTV reported. The agency surveyed 1,001 adults from Oct. 14 to 22. Alpha Research (Oct. 18–22, 1,000 respondents) measures a 12.8-point lead for Yotova but notes a loss of support for her candidacy, Svobodna Tochka reported. A Market Links poll published on Oct. 21 put Yotova at 47.3 percent and Gyurov at 30.6 percent.
Closing his campaign, Gyurov attacked Prime Minister Rumen Radev, saying he was fighting Bulgarian members of the European Parliament instead of protecting the country. "Security is defended with actions, not with accusations," he said after the European Parliament's resolution on shipping security in the Black Sea. Yotova, who is backed by Progressive Bulgaria, the BSP and VMRO, had already closed her campaign in Plovdiv on Thursday evening.