Bulgaria's president Iliana Iotova won the vote for the largely ceremonial post well ahead of a candidate backed by the pro-Western opposition. (EPA Images pic)SOFIA: Bulgaria's president Iliana Iotova, who favours dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine, won a presidential runoff vote on Sunday.
The race for the largely ceremonial post had pitted Iotova, an ally of Prime Minister Rumen Radev, against Andrey Gyurov, a banker and former caretaker prime minister backed by the pro-Western opposition.
Iotova gained between 57.4% and 58.2% of the vote, according to estimates from several polling institutes, well ahead of Gyurov, who garnered between 38.6% and 39.6%.
Flanked by Radev, a jubilant Iotova declared victory, saying her message had focused on "incomes, peace and the challenges that lie ahead".
