Bulgaria’s acting President Iotova leads in run-off exit polls

Bulgaria’s acting President Iliana Iotova is leading the presidential election run-off, according to exit polls in the race overshadowed by drone attacks on ships off the country’s Black Sea coast. Iotova, who advocates for dialogue with Moscow and opposes military aid to Ukraine, won just over half the vote in Sunday’s run-off , according to three exit polls, reported Bulgaria’s official news agency, BTA. Iotova had 51 percent compared to about 44 percent for her rival, Andrey Gyurov, who is backed by the pro-Western opposition. Exit polls put voter participation at about 27 to 29 percent, slightly higher ‌than the first-round race last week, which had a record-low turnout of 23 percent.