Status: 21.11.2021 8:21 p.m.
According to forecasts, incumbent Radev was confirmed in office in the presidential election in Bulgaria. He received 65 percent of the vote in the runoff election. According to initial surveys, voter turnout was less than 40 percent.
Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radew has apparently been re-elected. Forecasts from several polling institutes saw the 58-year-old clearly ahead of his challenger Anastas Gerdschikow from the party of the former Prime Minister Boyko Borissow after the runoff election. Radew received about 65 percent of the vote, Gerdschikow 32 percent.
Opponent of the ex-head of government
According to initial surveys, voter turnout was less than 40 percent and thus even lower than in the first round of voting a week ago. However, this has no effect on the validity of the runoff election. Radew was considered the favorite after winning 49.5 percent of the vote in the first ballot and narrowly missing a victory.
The 58-year-old made the fight against corruption the focus of his first term of office and thus shaped the largely representative presidency in Bulgaria in a special way. He is considered a vocal critic of Borisov. Last year he supported the anti-corruption protests against the then head of government. Two executive governments appointed by him have uncovered various alleged corruption scandals in the industrial and banking sectors in Bulgaria.