San Francisco Frontiers - Divided Bulgaria votes in tense presidential runoff

President Iliana Iotova, who favours dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine, will face Andrey Gyurov, a banker and former caretaker prime minister backed by the pro-Western opposition.

Polls opened at 7 am (0500 GMT) and will close at 8 pm, with voting able to continue until 9 pm at polling stations where voters are still waiting in line.

Iotova won 35 percent of the vote in the first round last week, with Gyurov on 32 percent -- a much narrower gap than the 20-point lead for Iotova predicted by opinion polls.

The first round in the European Union and NATO member state was marked by record-low turnout of just 23 per cent.

Political analyst Teodor Slavev told AFP that voters were giving their verdict on "Iotova's unconvincing response regarding Russian threats in the Black Sea".

Several vessels were struck in the Black Sea off Bulgaria in October, leaving 21 people missing, in suspected spillover from the Russia-Ukraine war.

While centre-left Prime Minister Rumen Radev has said the attacks appeared to serve Russian interests and summoned the Russian ambassador, his government insists there is so far no evidence directly linking them to Moscow.

- 'Safe hands' -

Iotova, a longtime Radev ally, supports Bulgaria's membership of the EU and NATO but has presented herself as a "president of peace" and strongly advocated negotiations with Russia.

During a TV debate ahead of the runoff, Gyurov criticised Iotova for failing to directly blame Russia for the Black Sea attacks.

"Russia must stop its aggression so that the next steps can be taken. Let us name the country from which the threats are coming," he said.

Iotova meanwhile insisted that "peace can come only through negotiations".

"Pouring more money into Ukraine, supplying new and more sophisticated weapons, leads only to more destruction and the deaths of many people on both sides," she said.

Radev has also argued that "a ceasefire in Ukraine and peace negotiations are the only sure guarantee of stopping attacks against commercial ships in the Black Sea".

After the first round of voting, he said the presidential election represented a choice between "peace and war".

"Let us vote for Iliana Iotova, so that Bulgaria can be in safe hands," he said.

A former journalist and member of the European Parliament, Iotova, 62, was elected vice-president alongside Radev in 2016 and 2021.

She took over as president this year when Radev stepped down to run in parliamentary elections.

- 'Two personalities, two directions' -

If successful in the runoff, she would become the first woman ever elected president in the country of 6.4 million people.

Iotova has also promised to address "the terrible issue of poverty" in the EU's poorest member state.

Historically close to Russia, Bulgaria remains deeply divided over its relationship with Moscow.

Gyurov, 50, a former deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, has sharply criticised Radev's foreign policy and strongly supports Bulgaria's Euro-Atlantic ties.

After the first round, Gyurov said Bulgaria faced a choice "between two personalities, two directions, and two ways of exercising presidential powers".

Sociologist Boriana Dimitrova told AFP the low first-round turnout may have been down to some voters assuming "Iotova's victory was a done deal" as well as disappointment with Radev's coalition.

However, Dimitrova expects higher turnout for the runoff because "the difference (between the candidates) is extremely small, and when there is a contested race, interest also rises".

The campaign was also marked by accusations from the opposition that Radev had used state resources and his office to campaign for Iotova, in breach of electoral law.

The Central Election Commission rejected the allegations, but Gyurov's campaign team is appealing the decision in court.

Q.Nelson--SFF