Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Local elections in Bulgaria come to an end 

Photo: BGNES

On 5 November, the run-off elections for mayors in 91 municipalities, 451 town halls and 31 districts (in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna) officially ended. 
According to preliminary data from the exit poll of Gallup International Balkan, BNR's partner in the local elections, by 8 p.m. the winner in Sofia is Vasil Terziev (PP-DB, Save Sofia) with 51.4 per cent, followed by Vanya Grigorova (supported by BSP for Bulgaria, the Left Party and others) with 44.3 per cent. 
Of those who voted for GERB/SDS in the first round in Sofia, 33% voted for Vasil Terziev in the run-off and 53% for Vanya Grigorova, according to Gallup exit poll data.
In Plovdiv, GERB won the election with its candidate Kostadin Dimitrov, who received 52.8 per cent of the vote.
The results in Varna and Blagoevgrad are tight - in Varna, PP-DB's Blagomir Kotsev gets 49.4% against 45.3% for GERB's Ivan Portnih, mayor of Varna since 2013 and running for a fourth term, and in Blagoevgrad, Metodi Baikushev (PP-DB) leads with 49.5% ahead of Ilko Stoyanov (independent), who got 48.1% of the vote.

There were 301 reports of electoral law violations received by the Ministry of Interior by 6 p.m. on polling day, and more than 2,600 since the start of the campaign. There were also problems with some of the voting machines, such as printing only one ballot paper when two votes were marked (for example, for mayor of a municipality and mayor of a district), or printing two ballot papers when two votes were marked and one was blank.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

A warning for dangerous rainfall has been issued for 12 regions in Southern Bulgaria

On Friday, the lowest temperatures will be between 4°C and 9°C, reaching up to 12°C in the southeast, around 6°C in Sofia . During the next 24 hours, the weather will remain cloudy. It will rain in almost the entire country. During the day, rainfall..

published on 11/27/25 6:45 PM

Varna mayor Blagomir Kotsev released pending trial on €102,258 bond

The Varna District Court has released the city’s mayor, Blagomir Kotsev, on a financial bond of €102,258. Before the court’s decision was announced, supporters of the mayor and members of the We Continue the Change party gathered outside the..

published on 11/27/25 5:37 PM

Three detained and five police officers injured at last night's protest in Sofia

Three people, including an Italian citizen, were arrested during last night's protest against the adoption of the 2026 budget in front of the National Assembly, the director of the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs, Chief Commissioner Lyubomir..

published on 11/27/25 3:50 PM