Bulgaria elects Iliana Iotova, ally of PM Radev, as its first female president

Bulgaria has ​elected Iliana Iotova as its first ​female president, official results ‌showed ​on Monday, providing a political boost for Prime Minister Rumen Radev who had backed her for the largely ‌ceremonial role.

Iotova, 61, won 57.6% of the votes cast in Sunday's run-off contest, while her rival, former caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov, 50, won 39.5%. The presidential vote ‌comes against the backdrop of a series of drone attacks in the ‌past month on merchant ships off the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, a NATO and European Union member state. The attacks have killed at least 24 seafarers, sparked international condemnation and ⁠stoked ​concerns about the ⁠growing reach of the war in Ukraine.

Both Iotova and Gyurov have condemned the attacks. Radev said ⁠the strikes' outcome "benefits the Russian Federation". Iotova, a former member of the European Parliament, ​became Bulgaria's acting president in January after Radev resigned to enter — and win — ⁠a parliamentary race on what many political analysts considered a Kremlin-friendly ticket.

Both he and Iotova ⁠have ​called for a diplomatic end to Russia's war in Ukraine. Gyurov, who served as caretaker prime minister this year, secured the support of pro-Western, reformist ⁠parties during his presidential campaign and he has long expressed support for Ukraine. He ⁠signed a security ⁠cooperation agreement with Kyiv during his time as premier.

In Bulgaria, parliament holds most decision-making powers.