Iliana Yotova has a convincing lead over Andrei Gyurov in the presidential runoff and will most likely become Bulgaria's seventh head of state, the first exit polls show. Voting in the second round began at 7am today and ended at 8pm.
MP Dimitar Zdravkov and parliamentary group leader Petar Vitanov said on behalf of Progressive Bulgaria that they do not expect the trend to change.
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Zdravkov said the trend is logical and matches what people expected. He thanked everyone who voted, including supporters of the Revival party. Asked whether the count at the Central Election Commission could bring a reversal, he said: "The airwaves are flooded with shamans. I can't fit in. I don't have the qualities for that role."
Vitanov thanked those who voted despite the bad weather. He said turnout was up by nearly a third on the last vote, and that such a rise has no precedent in the country's democratic history. He credited the party for it.
Vitanov called the campaign "the black, muddy campaign" and said it put many people off voting. He also rejected doubts about the legitimacy of the next president.
He said the gap between the first and second candidates will be big, and that Bulgaria will be more stable and calmer after the election. Early data show the party's candidate has the backing of more than a million people, Vitanov said.