site.btaUPDATED Cabinet Will Not Provide Voting Screens for Polling Stations - Election Commission Deputy Chair

According to a letter sent by the Council of Ministers to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the Council of Ministers will not fulfil its obligation to provide voting screens for polling stations in the country, CEC Deputy Chair Rositsa Mateva reported during Thursday's meeting of the Commission.

In the letter, caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov said that voting booths where paper ballots are cast are part of the equipment of polling stations and, therefore, their provision is the responsibility of municipal administrations. For this reason, the Council of Ministers believes that the manufacture of voting booths should not be centrally commissioned by the Council of Ministers. In addition, such commissioning presupposes uniform requirements for the type and size of the booths, the determination of which is not within the powers of the Council of Ministers.

Mateva reported that on February 19, the CEC sent four draft decisions to the Council of Ministers for approval. She added: "In one of them, we specified the dimensions for the manufacture of the screens and defined the uniform requirements. In this letter, the caretaker Prime Minister informs us that the Council of Ministers will not fulfill its obligation to provide voting screens for all polling stations in the country."

The CEC Deputy Chair said that, according to the Electoral Code, the executive branch is responsible for providing material and technical support to the polling station election commissions.

According to the Public Council of the CEC, the Council of Ministers is transferring responsibility for voting booths to municipalities. In an open letter sent to Gurov, the Council stated on Thursday: "In line with 'best' bureaucratic practices, you are transferring responsibility to municipalities, passing them the 'hot potato'."

The Public Council praised Gabrovo, North Central Bulgaria, and Montana, Northwestern Bulgaria, as municipalities that took the initiative to purchase screens. Most municipalities in Bulgaria, however, have not done so. According to the Council, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works should be tasked with studying the experience of these municipalities and, if their screens meet the specified parameters, should have similar ones manufactured for the remaining municipalities.

On February 20, Gurov and the CEC leadership held a meeting to discuss the early parliamentary elections scheduled for April 19. On February 21, CEC Chair Kamelia Neykova said that the Electoral Code does not provide for a "dark room" or voting booth. She added: "Our proposal is to have a centralized delivery from the Council of Ministers of identical screens in all polling stations." Neykova reported that the current voting booths do not meet the requirements, and the screens will show the upper part of the voter's body.