Prime minister Rumen Radev has called on people not to be afraid of pressure and to vote with their conscience in the run-off on 1 November. He said this at the start of a cabinet meeting.
After election day ended on 25 October, Andrey Gyurov offered Iliyana Yotova an open debate in front of the public.
More on this story: Gyurov challenges Yotova to open debate after election day
"I call on people, all Bulgarian citizens: do not be afraid, do not give in to pressure, vote with your conscience and conviction," Radev said. He asked anyone who is already planning to buy votes, or thinks of doing so, to drop the idea.
The interior ministry will show no leniency toward such attempts, but will act only within the law, the prime minister warned. He said the elections must be transparent, fair and responsible, and every Bulgarian citizen must have the right to cast a vote freely.
Yotova and Gyurov will go into the second round, the Central Election Commission said. Yotova, running with Kiril Valchev, won 528,951 valid votes in the first round. Gyurov, running with Georgi Kandev, got 486,232. In all, 1,525,034 of 6,584,025 voters took part.