Voting underway in Bulgaria’s 2026 presidential elections

Voting is underway in Bulgaria’s 2026 presidential elections, after polling stations opened at 7am on October 25.

Bulgaria’s 2026 presidential elections are regular ones, to vote into office a head of state for a five-year term beginning in January 2027. The role of the Bulgarian president is set out in Chapter 4 of Bulgaria’s constitution, available at this link in English.

There are 27 presidential candidates in Bulgaria’s 2026 presidential elections.

This is the highest number of candidates in a presidential election in Bulgaria since the country began direct democratic elections of its head of state. The previous largest numbers were 23 in 2021, and in 1992 and 2016, a total of 21 each.

In the presidential election, to win at the first round, a candidate must get at least 50 per cent of valid votes, with voter turnout of at least 50 per cent.

If a candidate does not achieve a first-round victory, a second round must be held, between the top two candidates from the first round. If in 2026 a second round is required, it will be on November 1.

In the October 25 vote, about 6.59 million Bulgarian citizens are eligible to vote, including 46 001 first-time voters, according to figures announced on October 22 by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC).

Voting will be done using voting machines at all polling stations where more than 300 voters are registered.

There are exceptions for places where voting will be done using a mobile ballot box, polling places in medical establishments, homes for the elderly and social services institutions, vessels flying the Bulgarian flag and and sections outside the country for which fewer than 300 applications have been submitted or where fewer than 300 voters cast ballots in the previous election.

Machine voting will be available in 9373 polling stations across Bulgaria, with two machines in 2249 of them, the CEC said. A total of 11 622 voting machines will be used on the October 25 election day.

A total of 613 polling stations have been opened in 60 countries outside Bulgaria. The United Kingdom has the most polling stations, 82, followed by Türkiye, where there are 78 polling stations, Germany 70, Spain 67 and the United States 44 polling stations. In July 2026, as The Sofia Globe reported at the time, Bulgaria’s Parliament voted to remove the limit on the number of polling stations in a non-EU country.

Machine voting is provided in 242 polling stations abroad, for which a total of 280 voting machines have been delivered. For the first time, voting with machines will be done in Warsaw, Bucharest, Bratislava, Budapest and Helsinki.

For the October 25 election day, the national meteorological bureau said that the weather in Bulgaria would be mostly sunny.

It would be foggy in many places during the morning, with more cloudiness in the afternoon over south-western Bulgaria. Only in isolated places, mainly in the mountains, there would be light rain, the meteorological bureau said.

Maximum temperatures would be between 15° and 20° Celsius, in Sofia. about 16°.

From the end of the campaign period until after 8pm on October 25, it is forbidden to make public the results of exit polls. Bulgaria’s Parliament, approving the amendments to the Electoral Code in July 2026, sharply increased the fines for publishing exit polls before 8pm on election day from a previous 2000 to 5000 leva to a new 5000 to 10 000 euro, the euro having become Bulgaria’s currency as of January 2026. In the event of a second offence, the fine, previously 5000 to 10 000 leva, is now 10 000 to 15 000 euro.

On election weekend, municipalities have the right to ban or restrict the sale of alcohol. There are 265 municipalities in Bulgaria, so such decrees – if issued – have to be checked individually. Any such ban also applies to foreigners ineligible to vote in presidential elections in Bulgaria. Among Bulgaria’s larger municipalities, Plovdiv has announced such a ban on election day, covering the sale of alcohol and the consumption of alcohol in public places.

On October 25, voting continues until 8pm. If there are still queues at 8pm, election officials are empowered to extend voting, but no later than 9pm. These same hours and rules apply at polling stations abroad, on the basis of local times.

By coincidence, and not for the first time in an election in Bulgaria, voting day on October 25 coincides with the clocks in Bulgaria being changed backward, as the country moves from daylight savings time to standard time.

Bulgaria’s 2026 presidential elections: The Sofia Globe’s factfile