Following the return of the second exploratory mandate by “We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria” (WCC-DB) to President Rumen Radev, former Finance Minister Asen Vassilev commented on the ongoing debate over changes to Bulgaria’s Electoral Code. He stressed that the proposed introduction of new voting machines in less than two months poses a serious risk to the integrity of the upcoming elections.

Vassilev explained that several parties, including GERB, DPS, and TISP, are pushing for new “scanning” machines to be purchased, configured, and fully tested by February 10. He highlighted that the timeline is entirely unrealistic. “It is clear to everyone that this cannot be done. Yet they propose it anyway,” Vassilev said, accusing the parties of attempting to switch elections back to paper ballots under the guise of introducing new technology.

“This appears to be their plan: remove the machines that are already working, claim to introduce 100% new ones, but in reality, they won’t be ready in time. Then elections revert to paper ballots, exactly as they want,” he added. Vassilev also called on citizens to protest against what he described as a deliberate attempt to undermine the election process.

He recalled past elections conducted entirely on machines, noting that different parties - TISP in July 2021, WCC-DB in November 2021, and GERB in October - had all successfully used the same machines, which were originally procured under the GERB government. “If these machines worked then, why are they suddenly a problem?” he questioned, reinforcing the call for maintaining 100% machine voting.

Meanwhile, Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of Revival, described the current proposals by GERB and DPS as a setup for “maximum election fraud.” He warned that removing the role of election commission members would allow parties to manipulate results, leaving the human factor entirely excluded. Kostadinov emphasized a hybrid approach combining machine and human oversight as the only way to ensure transparent and fair elections.

“Machines should print the results, the commission should verify them, and the data must match. This mutual control between machines and humans guarantees the fairness of the process,” he explained. Kostadinov also criticized the current composition of the Central Election Commission, noting that five out of nine parliamentary parties currently have no representation, which he called “absolute nonsense.”