In brief
CC chair Assen Vassilev described the presidential runoff as a ‘red card’ for the Bulgarian government following exit‑polls that put the Iliana Iotova‑Kiril Valchev ticket ahead of the opposition. Both BTA reports corroborate the 58%–39% split seen by five exit‑poll agencies, while Vassilev lamented low turnout at about 30% and warned voters that the run‑off results would be scrutinised more deeply.
Continue the Change (CC) Chair Assen Vassilev described the presidential runoff as a “red card” for the government after seeing exit‑poll numbers that put the Iliana Iotova‑Kiril Valchev ticket ahead of the opposition.
Vassilev, speaking to reporters in Haskovo, said: “The presidential election is a ‘red card’ for the Government over its handling of prices, incomes and the fight against oligarchic influence.”
“The presidential election is a ‘red card’ for the Government over its handling of prices, incomes and the fight against oligarchic influence,” Vassilev told reporters on Sunday.
The BTA sources reported that five exit‑poll agencies – Myara, Gallup International Balkan, Trend, Alpha Research and Market Links – logged Iotova/Valchev at about 58 % of the vote by 9 p.m., while Gurov/Kandev trailed at roughly 39 %.
Vassilev warned that the turnout of only about 30 % suggested voter discontent rather than a clear mandate and urged people to wait for the final official count, saying he expected the gap to narrow but the order of tickets to stay unchanged.
He also noted that exit‑poll data disproved claims about a politically fragmentary coalition, arguing that about the same number of GERB voters returned to the polls in the second round as in the first, and that MRF turnout was likely one third, split evenly between the two tickets.
In his assessment, the parties backing Iotova – Progressive Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane, the Bulgarian Socialist Party and Velichie – had received nearly 1.8 million votes in the parliamentary election, and a decline of roughly 800,000 votes would have brought Iotova’s support down to the 900,000‑1 million range projected by exit polls.
Vassilev also closed by turning his attention to the 2027 state budget, hoping it would be released soon and that any detrimental provisions could be challenged through parliamentary and extra‑parliamentary avenues.
