Bulgaria's President Iliana Iotova narrowly led the first round of presidential elections on Sunday with between 35 and 36.5 percent of the vote, exit polls showed.
Iotova will face Andrey Gyurov, a banker and former caretaker prime minister who came second with between 32.2 and 32.5 percent according to three polls, in the November 1 runoff.
The elections come as Russia's war in Ukraine spreads to the waters off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.
While the presidency is largely ceremonial, Sunday's vote has taken on added significance after a series of drone attacks on merchant ships off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast that likely killed some two-dozen international seafarers.
Attacks on merchant ships
The strikes, which sparked international condemnation and concerns about the growing reach of the war in Ukraine, prompted the government to seek allied assistance to bolster maritime security.
Bulgaria has stopped short of directly accusing Russia of carrying out the attacks, but Prime Minister Rumen Radev said their outcome "benefits the Russian Federation".
Both leading presidential candidates condemned the strikes, but they differ over the broader war.
Gyurov, who served as caretaker prime minister this year, is supported by pro-Western, reformist parties and has long expressed support for Ukraine. He signed a security cooperation agreement with Kiev during his time as premier.
Iotova, formerly vice president, became acting president in January after Radev resigned to enter the parliamentary race, which he won on what many political analysts considered a Kremlin-friendly ticket.
Radev supports Iotova and they both call for a diplomatic end to the war.
