Bulgaria's Parliament on Friday voted, 125-101 with no abstentions, to override a veto that President Rumen Radev imposed on Election Code revisions passed on December 2. The veto, decreed on December 14, concerned the manner of balloting and vote tallying.
The votes in favour came from GERB-UDF, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and BSP for Bulgaria. Those against were the MPs of Continue the Change, Vazrazhdane, Democratic Bulgaria, Bulgarian Rise, and the only independent MP, Yavor Bozhankov, formerly of BSP for Bulgaria.
Pushed through by GERB-UDF, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and BSP for Bulgaria, the Election Code amendments reinstated paper ballots as an option on a par with voting machines, introduced polling screens instead of polling booths, and stipulated that voting machines will print out ballots instead of paper records which will be counted manually after the close of the polls along with the paper ballots cast and the preferences. The machine voting tally sheet will no longer be part of the section commission tally sheet. The Central Election Commission, aided by the Minister of e-Government, will grant access to the source code and the documents of the machine voting electronic system and all other software applicable in the balloting process. Each party and coalition will be able to designate not more than three persons to have access to the source code and documentation. Access will not be grated 10 days before the polling day.
The Debate
Atanas Slavov (Democratic Bulgaria): Democratic Bulgaria will draw up a petition arguing that the Election Code revisions are unconstitutional and will solicit support for this initiative.
Alexander Nikolov (Bulgarian Rise): Bulgarian Rise backs the President's veto, which is reasoned and essentially justified.
Branimir Balachev (GERB-UDF): The change of the vote medium is not a violations and does not deny voters the right of choice. Machine voting prevented a lot of people from going to the polls for various reasons, especially in the large sections. We do not have the right to set restrictions other than those set in the Constitution regarding voting age. GERB-UDF has serious doubts about the software of the machine that are currently used for voting.
Kristian Vigenin (BSP for Bulgaria): BSP for Bulgaria was somewhat perplexed to see the arguments by which the President challenged exactly those elements that, in the opinion of the Left, improve the balloting process and election legislation. In future, there is room for further improvement of election legislation, considering the unaddressed issue of electoral rolls.
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