Five Bulgarian Political Parties Submit Electoral Code Amendments
In a significant move, Bulgaria‘s parliament has approved, on first reading, five draft bills proposing changes to the Electoral Code. These bills were submitted by the parties "Vazrazhdane", "There Is Such a People", "BSP – United Left", "Democratic Bulgaria", and "We Continue the Change".
Yesterday (07.01), the Legal Affairs Committee approved the proposals, which were subsequently included in the parliament’s agenda for today.
Vazrazhdane’s Electoral Code Amendment
The draft bill submitted by Vazrazhdane was adopted with 171 votes in favor, 45 against, and 1 abstention. The party proposes to allow the establishment of up to 20 sections abroad outside diplomatic and consular services. It also seeks to remove provisions stating that sections abroad can only be established in EU member states for European Parliament elections. Additionally, Vazrazhdane aims to limit the submission of multiple requests to establish sections abroad by allowing only one electronic application per IP address.
The party also proposes continuous video surveillance throughout the voting day, not just during result tabulation. This includes sections abroad and local and district election commissions. Furthermore, Vazrazhdane suggests increasing the size of the Central Election Commission (CEC) from 15 to 25 members andComposition. The CEC’s composition should reflect the proportional representation of political parties in the National Assembly and be adjustable during its term. Vazrazhdane also proposes that the CEC’s term should be one year shorter than the current one. Party members cannot hold positions in the CEC for two years after their term ends.
There Is Such a People’s Proposed Amendments
The amendments proposed by There Is Such a People were passed with 202 votes in favor, 8 against, and 9 abstentions. The party suggests replacing the existing voting machines with scanning devices. The Ministry of Finance is expected to provide these machines within three months of the law’s adoption. The party also proposes allowing voters to choose between inserting their ballot into the ballot box or having it scanned, with a control receipt placed in a separate urn. They also aim to create electoral registers based on the data of the National Statistical Institute and allow Bulgarians abroad to be added by declaration. Moreover, They propose establishing precinct election commissions in districts with up to 30,000 voters and extending the deadline for announcing election results.
We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria and BSP – United Left’s Proposals
We Continue the Change submitted two separate draft bills, with the first receiving 172 votes in favor, 39 against, and 6 abstentions. It proposes the introduction of voting and identification scanners. The party also suggests changing the CEC’s composition after each election. The second draft bill, proposed by Democratic Bulgaria, was adopted with 174 votes in favor, 37 against, and 9 abstentions. They propose reinstating machine voting with the restoration of the machine protocol and maintaining the option to vote with a paper ballot. They also suggest establishing precinct election commissions in municipalities with up to 20,000 voters.
BSP – United Left’s Proposed Changes
The draft bill proposed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party – United Left was approved with 200 votes in favor, 3 against, and 15 abstentions. It suggests conducting "experimental machine counting" in select sections determined by the CEC, with technical and financial support provided by the Ministry of Finance. The party also aims to cleanse the electoral registers of deceased voters and proposes establishing electoral precincts in districts with up to 30,000 voters. They also suggest removing numbers from ballots and including only the names of participating parties and coalitions.
The debate on these proposals was limited to only three speeches before the bills were approved within an hour.
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