Former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, who held the post from February 19 to May 8, 2026, and acting Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Georgi Kandev, who served from February 27 to June 8, 2026, announced that they will participate in the presidential elections on October 25. The two announced their candidacies for president and vice president, speaking at an event in front of the Historical Museum in Gotse Delchev, which was broadcast live on social media.

"You all want to hear whether I will join the race for head of state of Bulgaria - and the answer is yes, I will do it, and we will do it together with Georgi Kandev," announced Andrey Gyurov. In his statement, Georgi Kandev noted the motivation behind his support: "I stood by Mr. Gyurov because, during our work together, I saw that he is a fair person and that he loves Bulgaria," said Georgi Kandev, adding that he can be useful with everything he knows in the field of security.

Andrey Gyurov was born on December 31, 1975, in Gotse Delchev. From July 2023 to February 2026, Gyurov served as Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). On February 11, he was nominated by Iliyana Yotova, acting as head of state, for caretaker prime minister after she met with all potential caretaker prime ministers whose positions are enshrined in the Constitution. A week later, Andrey Gyurov presented a cabinet to the president, after which the head of state announced that he would issue decrees for the appointment of a caretaker government.

Gyurov began his professional career in 1999 as a credit analyst at the American bank Harris Bank in Chicago, USA. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Vienna. In 2004, he joined Volksbank in Vienna, Austria, initially conducting training at the senior and middle management levels on topics related to credit risk management, and subsequently held the positions of senior expert in risk analysis and methodology and director of the Credit Risk Control department, according to his biography presented to the Committee on Budget and Finance during his hearing as a candidate for Deputy Governor of the BNB.

Parallel to his corporate career, Gyurov has been actively involved in teaching. His biography includes academic work at prestigious institutions such as the University of Vienna, the American University in Blagoevgrad, Bocconi School of Management, the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna, as well as the Center for Central European Financial Markets and the Balkan Panitza Institute for Research. The list of subjects he has taught includes corporate finance, macroeconomics, capital and financial markets, risk management, and banking management.

Andrey Gyurov's political experience includes terms as a member of parliament in the 47th, 48th, and 49th National Assembly. In the last two parliaments, he was the chairman of the "We Continue the Change" parliamentary group. He has participated in the work of a number of important bodies, including the Committee on Budget and Finance, the Committee on European Union Affairs, and the Committee on Policies for Bulgarians Abroad.

Georgi Kandev was born on February 27, 1975, in Gotse Delchev. His professional history in the Ministry of Interior began in 1999. He has held the position of director of the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Blagoevgrad, and his resume also includes positions at the General Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime (GDBOP), the General Directorate of the National Police, and the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Sofia. During the caretaker government headed by Gyurov in 2026, Kandev was appointed as acting Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior. He retained his position even after the conclusion of the parliamentary elections in April of that year, before announcing his departure in June.