site.btaMPs Advance Proposal to Limit to 20 Bulgarian Polling Stations Abroad in Non-EU States

The parliamentary Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee supported at second reading an amendment to the Elections Code that provides for reducing to 20 the number of polling stations outside diplomatic and consular missions in countries that are not members of the European Union. The amendments were proposed by Vazrazhdane. A similar proposal has also been submitted by GERB–UDF. Both received the support of 12 votes, while eight members of parliament voted “against.”

If passed conclusively in Parliament, the revisions would have implications for Turkiye, the UK and US, which are the countries outside the EU with the largest Bulgarian communities.

Opposition to the proposal to cap the number of polling stations came from Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC–DB), MRF – New Beginning, MECh, Velichie, and the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms. CC–DB proposed that the number of polling stations abroad in non-EU countries be capped at 100. The proposal received the support of six members of parliament, three voted “against,” and nine abstained.

The Chair of the Central Election Commission, Kamelia Neykova, said that the decision to be taken by the National Assembly must ensure that all Bulgarian citizens have the opportunity to vote. She added that if a limit of 20 polling stations is adopted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will have to set in place such logistical arrangement that would ensure the voting rights of Bulgarian citizens, as was done when the number of polling stations was limited to 35 (between 2016 and 2021).

At the latest Bulgarian parliamentary elections, in 2024, there were 168 polling stations in Turkiye, 112 in the UK and 53 in the US, according to data on the Central Election Commission website. 

The consideration of the bill amending the Electoral Code at second reading continues.