In brief
Yes, Bulgaria announced it will appeal a narrow 8‑to‑7 Central Election Commission decision that cleared Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s post‑first‑round remarks as not breaching the election code. The appeal focuses on the commission’s refusal to consider more than 105 complaints alleging that the government’s official communication channels were used to campaign for Iliana Iotova, a candidate in the presidential runoff. Democratic Bulgaria and the Gurov‑Kandev nomination committee have also expressed demands for the commission’s disbanding or new investigations.
Sofia, 28 October 2026—The Central Election Commission (CEC) dismissed a complaint against Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s comments on the first‑round presidential results, ruling that the remarks did not violate the election code. The CEC decision, adopted by an 8‑to‑7 vote, also left untouched more than 105 complaints alleging that government official channels were used to promote presidential candidate Iliana Iotova.
In its justification, the CEC cited the timing of Radev’s statement—made after the first round and before the official campaign period—as a decisive factor. The commission argued that the remarks were made outside a state or municipal agency, institution, state or municipal enterprise, or a commercial company in which the state and municipalities hold more than 50 % of shares. It therefore considered the statement not to constitute campaign material under Article 183 of the Election Code.
Democratic Bulgaria (DB) has responded with a demand that the CEC members representing Progressive Bulgaria and Vazrazhdane resign. The coalition’s press centre said the commission had “refused to establish a violation” in response to 105 reports concerning Radev’s call, repeated through the Council of Ministers’ communication channels, in support of Iotova. DB MP Aleksandra Sterkova noted that the commission’s members had tried to avoid examining the report on its merits.
“There is a new assemblage between Progressive Bulgaria and Vazrazhdane, and their members on the CEC must resign after refusing yesterday to establish a violation in response to 105 reports concerning Rumen Radev’s call, published through the Council of Ministers’ communication channels, in support of Iliana Iotova,” said Bozhidar Bozhanov, co‑chair of the Yes, Bulgaria party, which is part of the DB coalition.
“The CEC, and more specifically the members representing Progressive Bulgaria and Vazrazhdane, … owe the public their resignations.”
On 26 February 2027, the party Yes, Bulgaria announced it would appeal the CEC’s ruling. The party’s statement said the commission had “all possible reasons to avoid answering the question of whether it is permissible for the official website and press service of the Council of Ministers to disseminate Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s call to support a specific presidential candidate.” It also alleged that arguments shifted throughout the CEC meeting, responsibility was passed around, and the “only thing that remained unchanged was the CEC’s unwillingness to rule on the merits of the matter.” The party warned that such inaction “shields those in power” and “violates equal application of the law.”
Meanwhile, the Gurov‑Kandev nomination committee, which backs Andrey Gurov and Georgi Kandev in the presidential race, has appealed the CEC decision to the Supreme Administrative Court and filed a new complaint. The committee argues that the commission failed to examine separately the dissemination of Radev’s call through official government channels and that the call to support Iotova constitutes election campaigning regardless of the speaker. It demands that the support announcement be removed from the government’s website before the upcoming election silence period and within the 24‑hour statutory deadline before the November 1 runoff.
