Bulgaria: Concerns about security in the Black Sea dominate presidential election campaign

Six months after Bulgaria's parliamentary election, the country is gearing up to choose its next president. Although the role of president in Bulgaria is largely ceremonial, the election on October 25 — with a potential runoff on November 1 — will serve as a test for the government of former President Rumen Radev , whose party won a landslide victory in April, securing an unprecedented majority — the first in Bulgaria in almost three decades. Although there are 27 candidates on the ballot, the race has narrowed to a duel between the incumbent president, Iliana Yotova, who served two terms as Radev's vice president and is backed by the prime minister, and former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, who is supported by opposition parties.