Voting has begun in Bulgaria for the presidential elections, in which a record 27 candidates are participating. The polling stations opened at 7:00, and the vote will determine the head of state for the next five-year term. The new president is due to take office in January 2027.
This is the largest number of candidates for president since the introduction of direct elections for the head of state in Bulgaria. The data for the election day were published by the Central Election Commission, and the information was quoted by Ukrainform and “Sofia Globe“.
Conditions for victory and possible run-off
A candidate can win in the first round if he receives over 50% of the actual votes with a voter turnout of over 50%.
If no one meets these conditions, a second round will be held on November 1. The two candidates who received the most support in the first round will be admitted to it.
Nearly 6.6 million people have the right to vote
About 6.59 million Bulgarian citizens can vote, with 46,001 of them exercising their right to vote for the first time.
Machine voting is planned in 9,373 polling stations in the country. In 2,249 of them, there will be two machines, and their total number reaches 11,622.
Outside Bulgaria, 613 polling stations have been opened in 60 countries. In 242 of them, voting by machine will be possible. For the first time, such an opportunity has been provided in Warsaw, Bucharest, Bratislava, Budapest and Helsinki.
End of election day
Voting will continue until 20:00. If there are still voters in front of the polling stations at that time, the election day may be extended, but not later than 21:00. The same rules apply to polling stations abroad, where local time applies.
Sources: ukrinform.ua, sofiaglobe.com