Presidential runoff kicks off in Bulgaria

Bulgarians went to the polls on Sunday morning to vote in the second round of the presidential elections, with the Bulgarian Socialist Party-backed candidate General Rumen Radev expected to win.

More than 12,400 polling stations across Bulgaria and 325 abroad are available for the 6.834 million eligible voters.

Radev, a recently retired commander of the Bulgarian Air Force, led in the first round last Sunday with 25.44 percent of the valid votes.

He faces Tsetska Tsacheva, the ruling center-right GERB party candidate and current speaker of Bulgaria's parliament, who got 21.96 percent in the first round.

Various surveys of voters' attitudes have given Radev some 10 percent lead over Tsacheva at the runoff.

Voters may also prefer the option "None Of The Above" on the ballot paper. Therefore, under the country's Election Code, in the second round the candidate who gains the majority of the vote will be elected.

The first exit polls -- polls of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations -- will be announced at 8:00 p.m. (1800 GMT), immediately after the polls close, and the official results are expected to be released on Wednesday.

Although the Bulgarian president is perceived by many as a ceremonial figure, his post is aspired by all parties in the country because he is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the country's Armed Forces and appoints high state officials such as the heads of the country's diplomatic missions abroad. Endi