site.btaCentral Election Commission Opens Public Procurement Procedure Related to Machine Voting in Early Parliamentary Elections

The Central Election Commission (CEC) launched a public procurement procedure related to machine voting in the early parliamentary elections scheduled for 2026, in accordance with the technical specifications and contractual terms, the Commission announced on Thursday.

The estimated value of the contract amounts to EUR 4,470,128 excluding VAT, the CEC said.

At the time of launching the procedure, certain key components necessary for fulfilling the scope of the contract have not yet been defined, the Commission explained. As a result, it is currently impossible to determine precise parameters in the technical specifications, including the timelines for carrying out the activities.

For example, the number of polling stations where machine voting will take place cannot yet be determined, as their establishment depends on circumstances that will arise at a later stage. The number of specialized electronic voting machines to be deployed in polling stations in Bulgaria and abroad also remains unclear, as do the distances over which they will need to be transported. In addition, the final list of election participants and candidate nominations is confirmed at a later stage, between 45 and 27 days before election day.

Last week, the CEC launched a separate public procurement procedure for an information campaign related to the early parliamentary elections.