site.btaARF: Limiting Voting Sections Outside EU to 20 Gross Form of Discrimination

The proposal to limit voting in countries outside the European Union (EU) to a maximum of 20 voting sections represents a gross form of discrimination that contradicts the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the principle of equality of citizens, and the very logic of the democratic electoral process, the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF) said in a statement to the media here on Sunday.

ARF added that it is particularly troubling and politically inexplicable that this restrictive and inherently nationalist proposal, submitted by the Vazrazhdane party, has received support from representatives of GERB, BSP - United Left, and There Is Such a People (TISP) - political forces whose governance and actions triggered mass protests and led the country to yet another round of snap parliamentary elections.

With this stance, these parties once again demonstrate disregard for the free vote of democratic civil society, a significant part of which today lives and works outside Bulgaria - in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Turkiye, Switzerland, countries in Asia, Australia, and around the world, ARF said.

ARF called on parliamentary parties to reject any attempts to restrict voting rights, to guarantee equal and free access to voting for all Bulgarian citizens, and to put an end to the practice of changing election rules under political pressure and fear of a free vote. 

On Friday, the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs approved a proposal to allow up to 20 voting sections to be opened outside Bulgaria’s diplomatic and consular missions in countries outside the European Union. The proposal was submitted by the Vazrazhdane parliamentary group.