In the Bulgarian village of Belo Pole, which has a population of just 600, there are officially 14,392 registered voters. This anomaly has raised concerns about the fairness of the election process, despite government assurances.

The unusually high number of registered voters is partly due to Macedonian citizens with Bulgarian citizenship being listed in the village’s electoral rolls. Although these individuals are registered, they rarely vote, using their Bulgarian identity cards primarily for work within the European Union.

Locals report that many of these registered voters are friends or acquaintances who are merely registered at several addresses in the village. For example, Yakim Stoychev, who owns one such address, mentioned that the numerous registrations at his property are merely for address registration purposes.

Radoslav Ivanov, a resident, noted that these individuals frequently visit but do not participate in voting. However, he did not elaborate on what might prevent them from voting if they chose to.

The village’s mayor, Ivan Stoychev, explained that the current residents of Belo Pole have historical ties to the village, which is why they maintain their Bulgarian citizenship. He argued that despite the large number on the voter roll, many of these individuals are legitimate Bulgarian citizens.

On election day, the sectional election commission faces significant challenges. The 400-page electoral roll and the high volume of ballots create logistical difficulties, with only about 500 voters having cast their ballots so far. The chairman of the Regional Section Commission-Blagoevgrad, Martin Busarov, expressed concerns about managing the election if all 14,000 registered voters choose to vote.

Minister of Innovation and Growth Rosen Karadimov, who oversees the upcoming elections, assured that any issues would be addressed by the Central Election Commission (CEC) on the day of the election.