Bulgaria’s former caretaker PM Gyurov confirms candidacy in presidential elections
Former caretaker Prime Minister Andrei Gyurov confirmed on September 1 his candidacy in Bulgaria’s autumn 2026 presidential elections, with former acting secretary general of the Interior Ministry Georgi Kandev as his running mate.
The Gyurov – Kandev ticket will be nominated by an initiative committee, rather than a political party or coalition, and is backed by Democratic Bulgaria and We Continue the Change.
The announcement was made in the birthplace of both, Gotse Delchev, and followed months of talk of a Gyurov candidacy.
Speaking at the launch event, Gyurov said: “It’s as if we’re missing something, we love our country, but we’re not happy with the state. We have many successful Bulgarians – doctors, engineers, athletes, artists, many of them are part of our initiative committee”.
“Nobody sent us here and we don’t owe anyone anything, we can speak the truth to the ruling party and the opposition,” Gyurov said.
Kandev said: “Today I stand before you to tell you why I am running and what to expect. I stand by Gyurov because during our work together I saw that he is a fair person, he is not afraid to admit his mistakes”.
He saw that Gyurov loves Bulgaria, Kandev said.
Photo: gurovkandev.bg
Gyurov was caretaker Prime Minister from February 19 to May 8 2026, before being succeeded by former president Roumen Radev at the head of an elected government.
Gyurov has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Vienna and has previously taught business administration at the American University in Bulgaria.
He was elected to Parliament three times between 2021 and 2023 as an MP for We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria, serving on the budget and European affairs committees.
He has worked in the private sector for Volksbank Group and Harris Bank.
Before taking office as caretaker PM, Gyurov was a deputy governor of Bulgarian National Bank, in charge of the issue department and was a member of the central bank’s managing board.
Kandev was appointed acting chief secretary of the Interior Ministry in February 2026 by Emil Dechev, who was caretaker Interior Minister in the Gyurov administration. Kandev stepped down some weeks into the Radev administration, saying that he would not take responsibility for decisions that he had not made.
Kandev has a bachelor’s degree from the Interior Ministry Academy, did courses at Europol, the European Police College and the FBI, and has a postgraduate qualification in criminal justice from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in law from Neofit Rilski Southwestern University in Blagoevgrad.
Bulgarians go to the polls in regular presidential elections on October 25. Should no candidate win more than 50 per cent on that date, a second round will be held on November 1 between the candidates with the two largest shares of votes.
Iliana Yotova, who in January 2026 took over from Radev as president when he resigned to enter parliamentary politics, is seeking to be elected head of state. She is expected to announce her running mate this week. Yotova has been endorsed by Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria and by the extra-parliamentary Bulgarian Socialist Party.
Various other candidacies have been announced, with more expected.
The role of the president is spelt out in Chapter 4 of Bulgaria’s constitution, available in English at this link.
