As many as 87,796 expatriate Bulgarians have submitted applications for voting abroad in the April 4 parliamentary elections by the deadline, which expired at 24:00 on March 9, the Central Election Commission (CEC) told BTA.

The number is nearly double the 45,000 or so applications submitted for the previous parliamentary elections in 2017.

Of the total number received, 85,710 applications were filed online and 2,086 on paper. Most came from Turkey (20,890), the UK (13,359), Germany (13,627), Spain (7,778), and the US (5,056).

On the basis of these applications, by March 13 the CEC will determine the places in the countries where voting sections will be established and the number of voting sections in each place. On March 14, the Foreign Ministry will aggregate the data and will send them to the heads of diplomatic missions and consular posts, who must establish the sections by March 17, determining their location on the basis of the territorial distribution of the Bulgarian community in the respective place.

In the places in EU Member States outside a diplomatic mission or consular post, voting sections may be established if at least 60 voters have submitted an application. The total number of voting sections established in any single State which is not a EU Member State may not exceed 35.

Since the voting obligation is practically unenforceable, the number of applicants does not correspond to the number of those who will actually vote and, moreover, any qualified voter abroad may be added to the roll and exercise their franchise on polling day in any section in any country or in Bulgaria.

According to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, 73 countries have granted consent to the conduct of voting for the April 4 parliamentary elections on their territory./BTA