Bulgaria's presidential election will proceed to a runoff, as no candidate ticket secured more than 50 percent of the vote.

According to unofficial results from polling agency Alpha Research released by Bulgarian National Television (BNT), incumbent President Iliana Yotova and her vice-presidential running mate Kiril Valchev received 34.6 percent of the vote, while former prime minister Andrey Gyurov and his running mate Georgi Kandev secured 32.7 percent.

Voter turnout stood at 22.5 percent.

Unofficial results from polling agency Myara put Yotova at 35 percent and Gyurov at 31.9 percent, with turnout reported at 22.2 percent.

Yotova and Gyurov will face each other in the runoff scheduled for November 1.

Stable governance

Speaking to the media after polls closed, Yotova expressed concern over the low voter turnout, thanking Bulgarian citizens who voted and those who supported her.

"Thinking that we can change anything in the country without voting is an illusion," she said.

Yotova said her campaign would continue with a renewed effort to engage more decisively with all Bulgarian citizens. She also stressed that Bulgaria needed stable governance rather than alliances formed between political parties.

Gyurov challenged Yotova to take part in a public debate ahead of the runoff, saying Bulgaria needed an active president who united citizens rather than divided them.

"I invite Yotova to an open, honest and civilised debate to present our views on how we would exercise our powers and how we would act when Bulgaria faces difficult choices," he said.