Presidential race in Bulgaria heads to runoff due to record low turnout

The presidential election in Bulgaria on Sunday ended inconclusively, with the next head of state to be picked in a runoff, according to election officials. A record low turnout, attributed by observers to a general mistrust in politicians resulting in voter apathy, will pit two contrasting political visions against each other in a highly polarized contest on Nov. 1. In a surprisingly strong performance, the candidate of the pro-Western reformist opposition, Andrey Gyurov, will face the incumbent leftist president, Iliana Yotova, setting clear lines of division regarding the country’s future relationships with other nations. Bulgarians voted against a backdrop of growing economic hardship and drone attacks on Black Sea shipping. The vote is the first major test for the Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria party of Prime Minister Rumen Radev after its triumph in parliamentary elections in April.