SOFIA, Nov 18: Ex-communist Georgi Parvanov scored an upset victory in run-off presidential elections against Bulgarian head of state Petar Stoyanov on Sunday, exits polls said.

Stoyanov had until recently expected to be re-elected comfortably, but apparently suffered from the same popular discontent at continuing poverty and corruption which ousted a centre-right government in June.

According to four polling institutes, Parvanov won between 51 and 52.5 percent of the vote, against 47.5 and 49 percent for Stoyanov, vying for a second five-year mandate.—AFP