Yotova and Valchev lead presidential poll by 18.4%
Get European news in your inbox daily
A short daily digest of the whole continent — or just the countries you care about.
Check your email. We've sent a confirmation link — click it to complete your subscription.
A poll by Alpha Research suggests the presidential ticket of Iliana Iotova and Kiril Valchev is headed for a runoff against Andrey Gurov and Georgi Kandev. Gurov enters the final stretch with the most donations, while his supporters have accused Iotova of using state resources for her campaign. Public attention is elsewhere; a video has emerged showing a drug trafficker, recently pardoned by the Vice President, in an altercation at a prison hospital.
The murder investigation of businessman Ilian Filipov has centered on a 'black lottery' debt as the motive for the killing. Separately, the National Security Service has been asked by MP Delyan Peevski to disclose every individual it has protected since 2013, a request for transparency that comes just as the service faces questions over the detention of an activist in Strumyani.
Former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has warned that a decision to release naphtha is a mistake that will benefit only the few who get rich from it. The state’s financial books are otherwise in better shape than anticipated; the country has been labeled a 'debt outperformer' for its recent fiscal management.