Bulgarians are heading to the polls on Sunday to elect the country's new President in a runoff vote.

A tight race is expected between the two remaining contenders, Parliament Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva, nominated by main ruling party GERB, and former Air Force Commander Maj Gen Rumen Radev, endorsed by the main opposition force, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).

Some polls predict a loss for Tsacheva, who was pointed as GERB nomination by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

The development may bring about political uncertainty as Borisov pledges to resign if his candidate is not elected President.

The Parliament Speaker was expected to get the biggest result in the first round, but came second to Radev.

Tsacheva, who pursued a career in law prior to entering politics, promises stability and professionalism if elected. She also repeatedly declares her intention to keep Bulgaria on the Euro-Atlantic track. Radev vows to trigger a change, advocated for a more independent foreign policy while taking the country's EU and NATO membership into account. He also calls for a more effective judicial reform based that explores the Romanian model, a new approach to the armed forces' modernization, and to continue the current head of state's effort to boost the IT industry.

While some media outlets home and abroad have dubbed him a "pro-Russian" candidate, both he and Tsacheva have called for the lifting of EU sanctions on Russia imposed over the developments in Ukraine.

But Radev has been more explicit in underlining the negative that sanctions have had on the Bulgarian economy and its export markets. 

Voting abroad is expected to be marked by high turnout, with 110 000 having cast ballots on November 06 compared to the 50 547 who voted in the previous presidential election in 2011. In the first round, however, the election outside Bulgaria was marked by problems such as long queues in front of the polling stations in the UK and Turkey.

A runoff is held when neither of the candidates gets more than half of the vote. Last Sunday, however, even the first two candidates' support combined fell below 50%.

Incumbent Rosen Plevneliev, who was GERB's nominee in 2011, is not running for a second term, but has not ruled out doring so later. He was elected in 2011 as GERB's nominee, but over the years began distancing himself from the executive and from Borisov.

Some 6.83 million Bulgarians are eligible to vote, with nearly 12 500 polling stations opened by election authorities.

Voting in Bulgaria begins at 07:00 local time (EET) and continues until 20:00, but may be extended by 21:00 if there are still people waiting to cast ballots.

Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic, but the head of state's office is more than ceremonial, with the President having a range of powers, representing Bulgaria in international relations, vetoing legislation, and creating caretaker cabinets.

Voting was made compulsory this year, but those not having a preference for either candidate can tick a new option, called "I Do Not Support Anyone". 

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