site.btaYes, Bulgaria Urges Presidential Veto on Election Code Amendments Limiting Polling Stations Abroad

Representatives of Yes, Bulgaria (part of the Democratic Bulgaria coalition within the broader Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) alliance) have called on President Iliana Iotova to veto the amendments to the Election Code that cap the number of polling stations outside Bulgarian diplomatic and consular missions in non-EU countries at 20, CC-DB MP Ivaylo Mirchev, Co-Chair of Yes, Bulgaria told reporters on Friday.

“Unfortunately, what we will see again are the queues in the United Kingdom that we witnessed for years – people traveling two or three hours to reach a polling station and then standing in line for half a day just to cast their vote. This is an insult to Bulgarians abroad – those who send around EUR 3 billion to Bulgaria and deserve at least the opportunity to vote,” Mirchev said.

According to him, the measure is being pushed because MRF-New Beginning Chair Delyan Peevski who “does not want votes from abroad to influence the outcome in Bulgaria, because votes are harder to buy there”.