site.btaUPDATED Parliament Debates at Second Reading Restriction of Number of Polling Stations in Non-EU Counties

MPs Thursday discussed at second reading amendments to the Election Code, tabled by Vazrazhdane, which limit the number of polling stations outside diplomatic and consular missions in non-EU countries to 20.

Nadezhda Yordanova of Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) said that this restricts the right of Bulgarian citizens outside the EU to exercise their right to vote, with the sole purpose of punishing those Bulgarian citizens who did not support MRF-New Beginning in previous elections and withdrew their support from There Is Such a People (TISP). “You did not justify why it should be 20. Borisov said: ‘I promised,’” she noted, asking to whom and at what cost.

Dragomir Stoynev of BSP-United Left said that the United Kingdom conducts elections abroad only at its embassies and consulates because it is normal to have greater control. He quoted fellow MPs who said that there is no way to fund the elections of someone who lives abroad and does not pay taxes in the country, “Do you agree that we should pay for the elections of someone who does not pay taxes here?” Stoynev asked.

He noted that this is not removing the right of Bulgarian citizens outside the EU to vote. According to him, they can go to the relevant embassy or consulate or take a plane and come to their homeland.

Martin Dimitrov of CC-DB said that Yordanova asks questions to GERB, but BSP answers her. “Bulgarians abroad send huge amounts of money to Bulgaria, which also translates into paid taxes and investments,” Dimitrov noted.

“I cannot accept that a representative of the Socialist Party would pit Bulgarian citizens against others,” Nadezhda Yordanova replied to Dragomir Stoynev. “Wasn’t BSP the party that supported the Constitution, which states that Bulgarian citizens should have equal rights regardless of where they are?” she asked. Yordanova noted that just in 2024, the contribution of Bulgarians living abroad amounted to EUR 3 billion.

Taner Ali from the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms warned that if the restriction on the number of polling stations abroad is voted through, they will challenge it before the Constitutional Court, all European institutions, the OSCE, and the Venice Commission. He called for the Constitution of Bulgaria not to be violated.

In response, Petar Petrov of Vazrazhdane recalled a 2021 statement by then Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov, who accused Turkish authorities of interfering in Bulgarian elections in favor of MRF. “In just ten months, we will again face presidential elections, which could coincide with parliamentary ones, and from Vazrazhdane we will not allow 90,000 votes for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms again,” he said.

A proposal by Nadezhda Yordanova for trial remote voting was not allowed for consideration, because it falls outside the scope of the bill adopted at first reading.

“The restriction of Bulgarian citizens’ rights to vote outside the EU must be compensated in some way, and our proposal is that this be through remote electronic voting,” said Bozhidar Bozhanov of CC-DB.

Hristo Gadzhev of GERB-UDF said that electronic voting exists in only one country in the world, Estonia, and the level of digitalization there is different from that in any country in the EU, or the world. He said that in the United Kingdom there is postal voting but questioned whether this would ensure the integrity of the vote. According to him, there is also delegated voting there, one person votes for the entire family. “Would this be appropriate for the Bulgarian situation?” he asked. Gadzhev emphasized that GERB has supported limiting the number of polling stations for 10 years.