Exit polls suggest that Yotova wins runoff to become Bulgaria’s first elected female president

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Exit polls in Bulgaria suggest that incumbent President Iliana Yotova is the apparent winner in the country’s presidential runoff. Partial official results are expected later Sunday.Surveys by several polling organizations give Yotova about 52% of the vote. If confirmed by official results, she would become Bulgaria’s first elected female head of state.Former interim Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, backed by reformist pro-Western opposition parties, is said to be trailing with around 44%.The vote was the first major test for Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria party, which has endorsed Yotova. In April’s parliamentary vote, the party won 131 of the 240 seats in Parliament, securing an outright majority.Observers say that a victory for Yotova will keep the presidency in the hands of the governing majority. Such a concentration of power could prevent the effective maintenance of checks and balances on policy decisions by institutions, th