Send to Kindle
File photo, BGNES
Bulgarian lawmakers are set to have a final vote on amendments to the Electoral Code that introduce restrictions to the number of polling stations that could be used by nationals living abroad.
The latest version of the changes allow for a maximum of 35 stations per country. The number does not include diplomatic missions.
Additionally, at least 60 people will have to demand that a station be set up in their respective location.
Expat voting in national elections has inflamed tensions in Bulgaria over the past months, as the new Electoral Code was being prepared.
In the spring, a nationalist coalition called Patriotic Front which backs the government but has no cabinet minister tabled amendments which banned the opening of any polling stations outside embassies and consulates and which were submitted with the vote of lawmakers from the governing minority coalition.
The PF argued the move would hinder controlled expat vote from Turkey from which, it said, the ethnic Turk-dominated DPS party largely benefited.
Parliament's vote, however, sparked outrage from expats and civil society members. The PF then backtracked, despite its earlier intention to withdraw support from the government unless the changes are introduced.
President Iliana Yotova has vetoed amendments to the Electoral Code that sought to restrict the number of polling stations for Bulgarians living outside the European Union.
After a marathon sitting lasting more than ten hours, Bulgaria’s National Assembly adopted amendments to the Electoral Code on second reading, significantly reducing the number of polling stations abroad in countries outside the European Union
President Iliana Yotova said efforts are under way to schedule the upcoming parliamentary elections for the earliest possible date after the Easter holidays
The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs has approved, at second reading, a provision allowing up to 20 polling stations to be opened outside Bulgarian diplomatic and consular missions in countries outside the European Union
Yordan Tsonev, deputy chairman of the parliamentary group of DPS-New Beginning, declared during consultations with President Rumen Radev that the 51st National Assembly has effectively ended its political life and that early elections are necessary.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) has declared that it continues to act in the public interest, setting aside narrow partisan and political ambitions amid growing tensions within the ruling coalition
GERB leader Boyko Borissov reacted to the fall of the Zhelyazkov government during a live broadcast on his official Facebook page, following the mass protests across the country.
The government is making a second clumsy attempt to introduce the state budget.
People with disabilities in Bulgaria face the most severe difficulties in the entire European Union, alongside Greece
The current patient fee for a medical consultation has lost its purpose and no longer serves its intended functions, according to Bulgarian Medical Association (BMA) chairman Dr.
Brussels has unofficially warned Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova that the country’s euro adoption process could be suspended, according to BGNES, citing Nova TV.
"Everyone wants positions – in regulatory bodies and ministries," he emphasized.
Novinite 2025 in Review: A Year That Tested Bulgaria and the World
A Disgraceful Betrayal: Bulgaria's Shameful Entry into Trump's Board of Peace
