Bulgarian presidential election

Ahead of Sunday's presidential run-off in Bulgaria, polling agencies have given a distinct lead to Rumen Radev, the left-wing victor of the first round of the election on October 6.

He took 25.45 per cent of the votes compared to 21.97 per cent for Tsetska Tsacheva, candidate of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov's centre-right GERB party.

As Bulgarians are heading to the polls on Sunday, they will vote for President based on what they saw and heard in five weeks of campaigning.

Support from parties and candidates who fared well in the election's first round, however, may also play a part in this decision as some of these have endorsed or indicated preference for either of the candidates.

Bulgarians are heading to the polls on Sunday to elect the country's new President in a runoff vote.

A tight race is expected between the two remaining contenders, Parliament Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva, nominated by main ruling party GERB, and former Air Force Commander Maj Gen Rumen Radev, endorsed by the main opposition force, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).

The option "I do not support anyone" will be available in the ballot for the run-off of the presidential elections on Sunday but will not, in fact, influence the outcome.

Tsetska Tsacheva (GERB) and Rumen Radev (BSP) will race in the run-off.

The independent candidate supported by BSP for President Rumen Radev receives the vote of 49.6% of the voters on the eve of the second round of elections on Sunday.

A total of 39.1% of voters will vote for GERB's candidate Tsetska Tsacheva, showed data of Alpha Research. 11.3% of the participants of the survey stated that they will not vote.

The two remaining presidential contenders in Bulgaria will appear on a televised debate on Thursday evening, three days out of the presidential runoff.

The biggest Bulgarian party's presidential candidate Tsetska Tsacheva must show full commitment to a 10-point reform agenda to receive support from Traycho Traykov, the Reformist Bloc (RB)'s dropped candidate, the latter has said.

Traykov was the joint candidate of junior coalition partner RB but did not make it to the runoff.

Socialist-backed candidate Rumen Radev won the first round of Bulgaria's presidential elections, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has said.

The CEC's announcement confirms earlier data with 100% of the vote counted.

There will be no ground for the government to backtrack on plans to step down if Tsetska Tsacheva loses the election, Bulgarian Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has said.

Bachvarova has told NOVA TV that Tsacheva, backed by the main ruling GERB party and coalition partner Reformist Bloc, has a good chance to become the next President after the runoff vote.

The candidate backed by Bulgaria's biggest opposition force is widening his lead on Tsetska Tsacheva, the contender of the main ruling party, the final count shows.

With 100% of ballot protocols processed, Rumen Radev's support is estimated at 25.43%, while Tsacheva has earned 21.96% of the vote, the Central Election Commission (CEC) says [BG].