No one was elected in the first round on 25 October 2026: Iliana Yotova had 34.7% and Andrey Gyurov just under 32%, so the two go to a runoff on 1 November; the election commission's site blocks scripts, so Al Jazeera and Reuters settle it.
History. 0 of 7. In every Bulgarian presidential election since 1992, the winner was decided in a second round a week later.
Hunch.
The first-round market resolves on the Central Election Commission's decision on the vote of 25 October 2026: YES if it declares a president and vice-president elected in the first round, NO if it names two pairs for a second round. If the Commission's site cannot be reached, BBC News, Reuters and Al Jazeera reports of that decision settle it.
We looked for cases where Bulgaria chose its president by direct vote under the same rule. There are seven, from 1992 to 2021. In each we checked how many voters took part and what share of the votes the leader won. No election ended on the first day. Six times nobody had half the votes. In 2006 the leader had 64%, but too few people voted. The first-round leader won the second round every time.