Ivan Hristanov enters the race for president: A civil alternative to politicization

14.08.2026 | Domestic policy

Former Minister of Agriculture Ivan Hristanov has announced his candidacy for president. He is focusing on a non-partisan, civil campaign, positioning himself in opposition to party headquarters.

Снимка от 8ULGAR1ANman, Wikimedia Commons, под лиценз CC BY 4.0

Ivan Hristanov announces his presidential candidacy

Former Minister of Agriculture and Food Ivan Hristanov surprisingly announced that he will run for president in the upcoming elections on October 25. On the air of Nova TV, he emphasized that the decision was not spontaneous, but the result of 15 months of work by an initiative committee.

"Bulgaria has suffered a lot when our presidents were politicized, when they were nominated by party headquarters and the choice was predetermined in several political cabinets," Hristanov stated.

Civil platform against party models

Hristanov called for the nomination of strong public figures and experts who can regain the people's trust. He emphasized that the vice-presidential candidate has already been selected, but their name will be officially announced upon submission of documents to the CEC.

Context of the presidential race

The upcoming vote on October 25 is shaping up to be highly contested. At the moment, the main highlights are:

The Central Election Commission has already adopted the election timeline. If no winner is declared in the first round, a runoff will be held within seven days.