
Exit polls suggest that Yotova wins runoff to become Bulgaria’s first elected female president
By Marcus Chen
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SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Acting President Iliana Yotova is the apparent winner of Bulgaria ’s presidential runoff, initial results of the vote count on Sunday showed, as former interim Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov conceded defeat.According to the count by several polling agencies, Yotova received 58% of the vote. If confirmed by official results, she would become Bulgaria’s first elected female head of state.Gyurov, backed by reformist pro-Western opposition parties, is said to be trailing at around 38%.Gyurov conceded defeat saying that “this is how the Bulgarian citizens have voted,” and added that the results had to be accepted as they stood.Official results were not expected before Monday.The vote was the first major test for Prime Minister Rumen Radev ’s Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria party, which endorsed Yotova. In April’s parliamentary vote, the party won 131 of the 240 seats in Parliament, securing an outright majority.Observers note that a victory for Yotova will keep the