Bulgaria's 'Revival' Party Proposes Ban on Paper Ballots
The pro-Russian political party "Revival" (Vazrazhdane) has proposed a bill to amend the Electoral Code, which includes the removal of paper ballots
Starting May 20, the Bulgarian Interior Ministry will open a hotline (982-22-32) for any issues linked to election fraud.
The hotline will be open until the end of the European elections day on May 25, Chief Interior Secretary Svetlozar Lazarov revealed. Any violations that are reported will be submitted to the Prosecution.
The transportation of ballots from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) to the regional electoral committees will begin on Wednesday, under heavy security. This measure is taken in order to ensure the situation with the notorious Kostinbrod ballots is not repeated. Prior to the parliamentary elections in May 2013, alleged illegal ballots were discovered in a printing house in Kostinbrod, near Sofia.
Over 12,000 police personnel will be deployed around the 11,600 polling stations on the election day to ensure security.
About 1 200 000 "phantom voters" can be found in Bulgarian elections lists, Mihail Konstantinov, formerly a high-profile official in charge of elections, believes.
Bulgaria's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) starts receiving documents for the registration of political parties and coalitions for the early elections on October 5.
A majority in the European Parliament has approved Jean-Claude Juncker to be President of the European Commission, reports BBC.
The European Parliament is expected to approve on Tuesday the nomination of former Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission.
Former Environment Minister Iskra Mihaylova has become the nomination of the European Parliament's ALDE group to chair the Regional Policy Committee.
The European Parliament has re-elected Martin Schulz for a second presidential term, with 409 votes from the 751 MEPs.