site.btaLegal Affairs Committee Debates Election Code Changes as Parties Clash Over Machine Voting

On Wednesday, the parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs is set to review at second reading a consolidated draft bill amending the Election Code, based on bills adopted at first reading and submitted by MPs including Kostadin Kostadinov (Vazrazhdane), Toshko Yordanov (There Is Such a People), Atanas Zafirov (BSP – United Left), Nadejda Iordanova and Kiril Petkov (Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria), among others. Committee members will also review at first reading a separate draft bill proposing fully machine-based voting, submitted by Nadejda Iordanova and a group of MPs. 

According to President Rumen Radev 100% machine voting with electronic reporting and manual control counting of receipts is necessary in order to provide greater reliability and transparency.

MPs commented on machine voting exclusively in the upcoming early parliamentary elections before and after the Christmas holidays.

In a video posted on Facebook before the holidays, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said that when elections come around, people immediately start talking about the Election Code, voting machines, and fraud. GERB has won elections with machine and paper ballots alike, "so whatever they decide, it makes no difference to us," he said, referring to the calls for amendments to the Election Code.

Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) MP and Co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria, Bozhidar Bozhanov told reporters on Tuesday that CC-DB "propose 100% machine voting, as was the case in the 2021 elections. In this pre-election situation, we must minimize changes to the Election Code, so we propose a return to machine voting exclusively." "From what we see in the draft bill to amend the Election Code, which is to be reviewed at second reading in the Legal Affairs Committee tomorrow, the consolidated one, not ours, we can conclude that the current majority, GERB-UDF, TISP, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) - New Beginning, and BSP-United Left, may have already agreed on significant changes and the introduction of optical scanners," Bozhanov added. In his words, "this is a deceptive move, a tactical move by [MRF-New Beginning leader Delyan] Peevski and [GERB-UDF leader Boyko] Borissov, which was devised so that they could say: you wanted machines, you will have them, but different ones."

The Vazrazhdane party is calling for the abolition of paper ballot voting, Vazrazhdane Deputy Floor Leader Petar Petrov told journalists on Tuesday. Petrov stressed that many of the draft amendments to the Election Code seek to introduce machines for scanning paper ballots, but Vazrazhdane opposes retaining paper ballots in any form. According to him, this would not prevent election-related crimes.

During consultations with President Rumen Radev at the end of the year, MRF–New Beginning Deputy Floor Leader Yordan Tsonev said they support machine voting, but not with the existing voting machines that they consider compromised. "We do not agree that these machines, whose software is not sufficiently effective, which is why they are not used anywhere in Europe, should be used to count the election results," Tsonev said. "Voting with them is possible for convenience, but the votes must be counted, and there must be civil and political control and video surveillance," he added.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party supports machine voting, but not in its current form and not in the way ballots are currently counted, party leader Atanas Zafirov told President Radev, during consultations prior to the granting of the government-forming mandate. According to Zafirov, a significant portion of voters insist on paper voting, even though that is where the most abuse occurs. "A serious discussion is coming up within the party and the coalition about what our position should be on paper voting," Zafirov said.

There Is Such a People Deputy Floor Leader Stanislav Balabanov told reporters on Tuesday, that TISP want 100% machine voting, "but not with these machines". Instead, there should be "scanning devices, integrated into the polling stations where Bulgarian voters can cast their votes," Balabanov added. According to him, there is a clear need for change in the Election Code.

We have initiated proposals that are currently pending in parliament, and we will continue to pursue this issue not only in relation to machine voting, but also machine counting of results and machine readable protocols, Alliance for Rights and Freedoms Floor Leader Hayri Sadakov said, after attending the government-forming consultation with President Radev at the end of December.

At the consultations MECh Chair Radostin Vasilev said that "this parliament cannot produce an Election Code that guarantees fair elections, because the majority in it is different [from what the electorate wants]." "Let's hope we get enough votes for something good, such as machine voting only, mandatory video surveillance for the start of work at polling stations, and expansion of the security functions of the Interior Ministry," he added.

Ivelin Mihaylov, leader of the Velichie party, at the consultations, said Velichie insists on urgent legislative measures to restore confidence in the electoral process, including 100% machine voting with electronic counting of results and control counting of receipts.