Bulgaria’s 2026 presidential elections: Yotova and Gyurov set for live television debate on October 29
The two candidates in the second and final round of Bulgaria’s 2026 presidential elections – incumbent Iliana Yotova and former caretaker prime minister Andrei Gyurov – will meet in a live television debate on public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television (BNT) on October 29 at 9pm, BNT said.
Yotova and Gyurov will complete in the runoff of Bulgaria’s regular presidential elections on November 1, in which, in order to win, a candidate needs a simple majority of valid votes.
The two are in the second round after in the initial vote on October 25, the other 25 tickets were eliminated.
Yotova emerged a mere 2.8 points ahead of Gyurov amid a first-round election that saw voter turnout that was a record low not only for a presidential election in Bulgaria since the country first began democratically electing its head of state, but also for all the country’s national elections.
Yotova – who became president in January 2026 when Roumen Radev resigned from the post to enter parliamentary politics – is seeking election as head of state in her own right. She has the stated endorsement of Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria – Parliament’s largest group – and a few left-wing parties. She is the nominee of an initiative committee.
Gyurov, who headed an interim government earlier in 2026, also is the candidate of an initiative committee, and is backed by opposition parties Democratic Bulgaria and We Continue the Change, as well as a few of the candidates who failed at the first round.
BNT said that the debate would be broadcast on its BNT1 and BN4 channels, its bntnews.bg website, as well as on its Facebook page and YouTube channel.
This will be the only debate between the two candidates ahead of November 1, BNT said.
The debate will cover topics important to society in which the presidential institution plays a major role, as well as the policies, views and values of the candidates, the public broadcaster said.
Separately, on October 28, the Central Electoral Commission hosted a draw to allocate slots for Yotova and Gyurov, respectively, to address the nation via BNT and Bulgarian National Television on October 30, if they choose to do so. October 30 is the final day on which canvassing is allowed.
This possibility is provided for in Article 57 of Bulgaria’s Electoral Code.
Each candidate may delivery an address of up to 10 minutes. The result of the random draw on October 28 was that Gyurov may speak first and Yotova second.
