site.btaSecond Round of Voting for Prosecutors' Representatives on Supreme Judicial Council Ends

The second round of voting to elect four members of Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) from the prosecutors' quota has ended, the SJC said on Sunday.

A runoff was held after none of the 25 candidates secured the required number of votes to be elected in Saturday's first round.

If the required number of members again fails to secure the necessary majority, the candidates receiving the most votes will be deemed elected. In the event of a tie, the successful candidate or candidates will be determined by the election commission through a draw conducted in the presence of the candidates concerned.

A total of 25 candidates are standing for election, with 1,567 prosecutors eligible to vote. Turnout was high on Saturday, when 1,363 prosecutors cast their ballots.

The four candidates who received the most votes in the first round were Plamen Petkov with 479, Ivaylo Iliev with 400, Krasimira Filipova with 365 and Dobrinka Kalcheva with 337.

Following the close of voting, the SJC is providing live video monitoring and recording at each polling station of the opening of ballot boxes, the counting and verification of ballots, the number of votes cast for each candidate, and the preparation, reading and public announcement of the results protocols. The packing and sealing of election documents and materials are also being recorded.

The process is being broadcast live on the SJC website and the BTA website.

Polling stations are expected to submit scanned copies of their protocols, electronically signed by their chairs using qualified electronic signatures, to the election commission by 9 pm.

Based on the data received, the commission will establish the results. Its chair will announce the number of votes received by each candidate and the names of the four elected members of the Supreme Judicial Council.

The election commission's decision and the polling station protocols will be published on the SJC website.

BTA is covering the election of SJC members from the parliamentary, judges', prosecutors' and investigators' quotas in a dedicated developing-news section, New Supreme Judicial Council.