Speaking to media in Sofia, prime minister Rumen Radev called on voters to back Iliana Yotova in Sunday's presidential run-off. He said that in the second round "we will choose between peace and war, between democracy and the corrupt model of the patchwork coalition, between calm truth and the hysteria of the trolls".

Radev congratulated Yotova on winning the first round, mainly because she kept her dignity and stayed out of the highly negative campaign that has been run against her all along.

No election is minor, the prime minister said. The presidential vote sent a very worrying signal to society as a whole.

Radev accused PP, DB, Peevski and GERB, which he calls "the patchwork coalition", of "crippling" the constitution and so giving many people the idea that there is no point in voting.

Turnout in the first round was low. The prime minister also put this down to opinion polls published before the vote. Many people saw them, decided the result was clear and did not vote, he said. Radev said one side rallied all its forces while the other relaxed in advance. He expects that to change in the run-off, with more people voting.

Radev said the "patchwork coalition" people see the election as a fight to the death, a fight for survival. He said their aim is to protect and cover up corruption and what they have grabbed, and to take Bulgaria backwards. He added that the parties are openly preparing for another "patchwork coalition" in the name of revenge.

Radev thinks they will not stop at dragging the country into the war. As an example, he said Gyurov signed the military agreement with Ukraine without a mandate. Russia has waged a full-scale war on Ukraine since February 2022, and the EU and Bulgaria back Ukraine.

The prime minister criticised Gyurov for rushing to defend Peevski as soon as the arrests of Peevski's mayors began. Radev called those mayors clearly compromised. Gyurov has called the arrests a "revival process", which Radev said is entirely to defend Peevski.

Every sensible person understands the choice, but it must show in the ballot boxes, Radev said. "On Sunday, let's send the patchwork coalition into oblivion. Let's vote for Iliana Yotova, so that Bulgaria is in safe hands," he said.