Election Race Starts As Bulgaria’s Acting President Seeks Full Mandate

Bulgaria’s acting President Iliana Iotova has confirmed she will be running in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for October. Iotova, who was previously a low-profile Vice-President to Rumen Radev, assumed office in January after Radev resigned in order to become Bulgaria’s Prime Minister. On July 28 the ruling party, Progressive Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian Socialist Party, where Iotova launched her career, officially endorsed her bid to become the permanent President. Two days later an opinion poll gave her a 50 per cent approval rating from members of the public, enough to give her a landslide win. Other opinion polls have indicated a high, but slightly decreased, support for Radev’s government. “Iotova has quite a comfortable lead”, Zlatina Zehirova, internal politics editor at Dnevnik.bg, told BIRN. “There are about three months until the elections, in which Iotova's opponents will look for ways to make the most of the power imbalances.” Zehirova said Progressive Bulgaria’s support is both a blessing and a curse, because the shaky politics of Radev’s government might reflect negatively on Iotova's campaign. Subscribe to Balkan Insight Premium to read the full article. Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber. Buy Premium Subscription Our Premium Service gives you full access to all content published on BalkanInsight.com, including analyses, investigations, comments, interviews and more. Choose your subscription today and get unparalleled in-depth coverage of the Southern and Eastern Europe. Buy Premium Subscription If you have trouble logging in or any other questions regarding you account, please contact us