site.bta Central Election Commission to Open 493 Polling Stations in 55 Countries for April 19 Elections

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has decided to open 493 polling stations in 55 countries for the parliamentary elections on April 19, 2026. The decision was adopted with 14 votes in favour at a meeting of the CEC on Saturday.

On Thursday, the CEC reported that 60,904 applications had been submitted for voting abroad in 67 countries. Legal restrictions limiting the number of polling stations outside diplomatic and consular missions in non-EU countries to 20 affect the United Kingdom, the United States and Turkiye.

The decision is based on proposals submitted by Bulgarian diplomatic missions through the Foreign Ministry. In the United Kingdom, the embassy in London proposed opening 12 polling stations outside the capital and eight within London districts, with Stratford included and Brighton excluded compared to earlier proposals from volunteer networks.

The Foreign Ministry clarified that polling stations will not be opened in honorary consulate offices, such as those in Liverpool and Belfast, as these are not considered official diplomatic or consular missions under the law, and honorary consuls cannot be required to host voting activities.

For the United States, the proposal includes six polling stations in the Chicago consular district, four in New York, and five each in the districts of the embassy in Washington and the consulate in Los Angeles.

In Turkiye, proposals include 20 polling stations outside diplomatic and consular premises, along with seven within missions in Ankara, Istanbul, Edirne and Bursa. Due to logistical constraints, locations have been concentrated in areas with larger Bulgarian communities and higher previous voter turnout.

The Foreign Ministry has also confirmed that no polling stations will be opened in several Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, due to security risks.

Additionally, the CEC decided not to open polling stations in a number of countries, including Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon, Nigeria, Syria, Palestine, North Korea, Pakistan, India, Iran, Mongolia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the Vatican, citing feasibility concerns.