site.btaAuthorities Step Up Oversight, Resources, and Accessibility Measures Ahead of April 19 Elections

The Elections Coordination Council gave a briefing on Monday to update the public on the latest developments in the run-up to the snap parliamentary elections on April 19. The topic was also discussed in a Facebook post by Interior Ministry Secretary General Georgi Kandev.

Kandev wrote that the General Directorate National Police has decided to deploy 200 officers across the country to support monitoring and counteraction against election-related violations and crimes both ahead of and on election day. He noted that a special communication unit is being established within the 112 emergency call system, staffed with additional telephone operators to address election-related reports from citizens.

By 8:30am on Monday, the Interior Ministry had received 576 alerts about violations of election legislation and citizens' political rights, according to Deputy Minister Ivan Anchev. Of all the reports, 514 are related to vote buying, he said during the Coordination Council briefing. A total of 181 pretrial proceedings have been launched over alleged electoral violations.

Regional governors have begun organizing the production of voting screens, to be used for voting with paper ballots, with some regions already conducting public tenders and securing the necessary materials, said Vanya Nusheva, the caretaker Prime Minister's adviser on election matters. A total of 493 voting sections are expected to be opened abroad, said Nusheva.

A QR code will be placed at every polling station to facilitate access to information on candidate lists for visually impaired voters, said Deputy Minister of Electronic Governance Nikolay Minev.