site.btaObservers of Voting Machine Certification Have Received Access

Caretaker Minister of e-Government, the Chairperson of the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology (BIM), and the Chairperson of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Institute for Standardization (BIS) have approved a schedule for granting access to the certification of the voting machines to individuals registered in the Central Election Commission (CEC) register, the Ministry of e-Government said.

According to the approved schedule, from March 30 to April 1, 2026, between 10 am and 12 am and 2 pm and 5 pm, individuals registered in the CEC register will have access to a hall at the Ministry of e-Government, where the machines for the upcoming vote are being certified.

The external observers include representatives of political parties, coalitions, and initiative committees registered to participate in the elections, as well as representatives of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations registered as observers, and of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the statement adds

The designated individuals are entered by CEC in a public register, and are granted access according to a CEC decision and the internal rules of the three institutions responsible for the certification – the Ministry of e-Government, BIS, and BIM.

“For these elections, the software code of 100% of the installed voting machines will be checked, instead of the previous 30%. For this purpose, the ministry will rely on an additional team of about 60 technical specialists from the state administration,” announced last week Minister of e-Government, Georgi Sharkov, who also coordinates the organization of the vote.