site.btaUPDATED Election Costs Are Expected to Total EUR 75-80 Mln

Final election costs are estimated to be around EUR 75–80 million, Finance Minister Georgi Klisurski told a news briefing at the Council of Ministers following the first regular meeting of the caretaker cabinet on Monday.

The Council of Ministers adopted the budget for the parliamentary elections on April 19, amounting to EUR 65 million. In its final version, the total cost will be around EUR 75–80 million, Klisurski said.

Klisurski said that a large portion of this amount, over EUR 35 million, is allocated for the remuneration of members of the election commissions.

He said that around EUR 12 million has been provided for securing the election process by the Ministry of Interior, and funds are allocated for video surveillance and recording through the Ministry of E-Governance. Funding is also available for updating voter lists through the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, as well as for establishing polling stations abroad through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Resources have been secured for all other processes necessary to ensure the smooth conduct of the elections on 19 April, said Georgi Klisurski.

With this decision, the caretaker cabinet has fulfilled one of its first commitments, to financially secure the conduct of the elections. “The next task is to work tirelessly to ensure some of the fairest elections in Bulgaria’s history,” the Finance Minister added.

“Technically, we are now covering machine voting, but an additional decree will allocate around EUR 10 million for paper ballots. If there are further expenses for paper ballots and polling screens, an additional act of the Council of Ministers may be adopted, bringing the final budget to approximately EUR 75–80 million,” the Minister explained.