Bulgaria: Andrey Gyurov says his side accepts the presidential election results

After the second round of Bulgaria's presidential election held on 1 November, presidential candidate Andrey Gyurov said his side accepts the results. Gyurov said that however surprising the gap between exit polls and parallel vote count results may be, Bulgarian citizens ultimately cast their votes in this way.

Gyurov said the campaign had ended but responsibility had not. "We must hold the state accountable," he said, adding that the state should work for Bulgarian citizens rather than for itself. He thanked all citizens who voted and the political parties that backed a campaign aimed at reaching Bulgarian citizens regardless of their political views. He said difficult challenges and a troubled period lay ahead, and that society should seek unity rather than division.

Vice-presidential candidate Georgi Kandev also spoke to the press after the second round, saying, "This struggle with these elections does not end." Kandev called on the Bulgarian people to follow whether all promises made to them are kept.