site.btaUPDATED When Head of State Iotova Decides Whether to Run for President in Next Elections, She Will Announce It in Stara Zagora

Head of State Iliana Iotova said Wednesday that when she decides whether to run for president in the upcoming fall presidential election, she will announce it in Stara Zagora (Southern Bulgaria). Iotova made her remarks to journalists in Stara Zagora, where she attended the 2025 Socially Responsible Companies – Partners of the Municipality awards ceremony.

“I will not hide the fact that I am currently receiving quite a few proposals from entire groups of people who want to form initiative committees,” Iotova said.

The President gave a positive assessment of the Government’s efforts to deal with the floods over the past few days. She noted that she had been in constant contact with the Mayor of Apriltsi since Saturday.

“We need a comprehensive review in order to have a functioning judicial system,” Iliana Iotova added. She said that the resignation of Borislav Sarafov earlier on Wednesday was only the beginning.

“We will wait a little longer to see what proposals will be made for legislative amendments to the Judicial System Act. We expect them sometime around mid-June so that the overall reform can gradually come into effect. My position has always been that we cannot assess matters and wait only for piecemeal decisions,” Iotova said, stressing that it was important for people to receive justice. “That is our wish as Bulgarian citizens,” she added.

She also commented on the future of the Maritsa Iztok complex, adding that the current Government was making every effort to secure the remaining payments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

“I hope the new Government will renegotiate part of Bulgaria’s commitments to the Commission. My firm view is that we are not yet ready for reform in this sector,” Iotova said. She gave a positive assessment of the government’s handling of the flooding over the past few days.

“I will not forget the day when we were all celebrating on Sunday. Teams left everything else aside in order to help the people in Sevlievo, where the biggest problem was. Literally within a few hours the necessary pipes were replaced and, as you can see, although slowly, people started receiving water yesterday because there was a serious danger of epidemics and an environmental disaster,” Iotova added.

Iotova is in Stara Zagora for the 2025 Socially Responsible Companies – Partner of the Municipality awards ceremony. In her address there, she said that good cooperation between local authorities and businesses was an essential condition for the country’s development. She identified three areas with enormous potential for Bulgaria - artificial intelligence and high technologies, energy infrastructure and manufacturing. According to her, the development of the regions is a key factor for the country’s progress. She noted that European policy is specifically aimed at reducing disparities in living standards between different regions.