Bulgarian President Iliana Yotova is the early favorite in the country's upcoming presidential election, according to a new survey conducted by polling agency Global Metrics.
The poll found that around half of respondents said they would be likely to support Yotova in the race for the presidency. The agency noted that the survey was completed before she officially announced her candidacy.
Among the other potential contenders, Andrey Gyurov ranked second with 23% support, followed by Daniel Valchev with 18% and Ivan Hristanov with 12%. None of the three had formally confirmed their participation in the election at the time of the survey.
When respondents were asked about their preferred candidate based on party affiliation, the strongest backing went to a nominee from Progressive Bulgaria, receiving 39.7% support among those who said they intended to vote in the autumn election.
A joint candidate backed by We Continue the Change (PP) and Democratic Bulgaria (DB) ranked second in the party-based preference survey, while a candidate nominated by the GERB-UDF alliance placed third.
