site.btaUPDATED Central Election Commission Presents Specimen Ballots for Upcoming Snap Parliamentary Vote

The Central Election Commission (CEC) presented on Thursday the paper and electronic specimen ballots for voting in the early parliamentary elections on April 19. The ballots were presented by CEC Deputy Chair and spokesperson Rositsa Mateva during the regular weekly briefing dedicated to the vote.

The ballot to be used in the country will include preferential voting for candidates for Members of Parliament, while the ballot for voting abroad will not include such an option, as the introduction of an “Abroad” electoral district has been postponed. The ballot in the voting machines will consist of two pages, Mateva explained.

A total of 60,904 applications for voting abroad have been submitted in 67 countries for the elections, she said.

There will be no audio files containing the lists of candidates to assist visually impaired voters in the April 19 election, Mateva added. "Yesterday we received a letter from the Minister of Electronic Governance, who is responsible for the elections, stating that all regional governors tasked with producing these audio files have informed the Council of Ministers that they lack the technical capability," she explained.

"The measures the CEC is taking to enable people with disabilities to vote should not create so much tension or raise so many questions, because these are measures and provisions set forth in the Election Code, and the CEC is making every effort to ensure them so that these voters can also cast their ballots with peace of mind," she noted.