Presidential race in Bulgaria heads to runoff due to record low turnout– abcnews.com

SOFIA, Bulgaria — 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.

Despite a record number of candidates, the race had been expected to be decided in a runoff between incumbent Yotova, backed by Radev’s party, and former caretaker Prime Minister Gyurov, who is backed by pro-Western opposition parties.