site.btaVazrazhdane Backs Fully Machine-Based Voting, Opposes More Polling Stations Abroad

Vazrazhdane will support the introduction of fully machine-based voting, but not the provisions allowing paper ballots to be used in polling stations with fewer than 300 registered voters, Vazrazhdane Deputy Floor Leader Peter Petrov told journalists on Wednesday, commenting on proposed amendments to the Election Code by Progressive Bulgaria on Tuesday and by Continue the Change earlier on Wednesday.

Petrov said Vazrazhdane would also oppose the proposal to remove the limit on the number of polling stations abroad, citing the party's longstanding position on polling stations in Turkiye.

He said Vazrazhdane had advocated exclusively machine-based voting for the past several years because, in his view, paper ballots had resulted in widespread irregularities and electoral fraud, issues that were also examined by the Constitutional Court in 2025.

Petrov criticized the governing Progressive Bulgaria coalition's proposal to retain paper voting in polling stations with up to 300 registered voters.

"This is extremely dangerous for the integrity of the electoral process," he said, arguing that "most cases of electoral fraud and election-related offences occurred in smaller polling stations, in outlying urban districts, small settlements and some neighbourhoods."

Petrov also claimed that unused ballot booklets are not returned to the election materials after polling ends, making it impossible to determine whether they are subsequently misused.