Bulgarians vote to elect new president

Xinhua/NAN

Bulgarians on Sunday began voting to elect a new president, with 27 candidates contesting for the country’s top office.

According to the country’s Central Election commission as many as 6.59 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots, including the incumbent President Iliana Iotova.

Polling stations across the country opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and are scheduled to close at 8:00 p.m.

The first exit polls may be released immediately after voting ends, while the official results must be announced not later than Tuesday evening.

The president is elected for a five-year term. To win in the first round, a candidate must secure more than half of all valid votes, provided that voter turnout exceeds 50 per cent.

Pre-election opinion polls suggest that a runoff is inevitable, as turnout is expected to remain at or below 50 per cent and no candidate is projected to secure more than half of the vote in the first round.