Just under 200,000 Bulgarian citizens voted abroad following the early parliamentary elections held on April 19. During a briefing on Monday, the caretaker Foreign Minister, Nadezhda Neynsky, reported that 53,000 of these voters cast their ballots using machines. The Minister noted that 156,000 voters, or 81% of the total, did not pre-register and instead applied to vote on Election Day, which reportedly slowed the process.
Neynsky detailed logistical challenges across various locations. She stated that in Turkiye, voting extended past the scheduled end time in seven sections due to high voter turnout. In the United Kingdom, five London sections required extended hours, and similar extensions occurred in Spain and Norway, with two sections in Serbia operating beyond 8 pm.
The Foreign Minister confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs implemented the Electoral Code, which restricts polling stations outside EU member states and outside diplomatic or consular missions. To ensure voting accessibility, the Ministry took several organizational and technical measures. These included intensive consultations with Bulgarian communities abroad and volunteer groups to optimally distribute the twenty allowed polling sections.
Furthermore, diplomatic representatives proposed expanding the number of sectional election commission members up to nine. For voters abroad who could not access a physical polling station, the Central Election Commission (CEC) accepted electronic applications to speed up registration. Neynsky confirmed that all overseas polling stations submitted their protocols to the CEC, with only one station in London facing technical issues that were being resolved.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that efforts were made to optimize station placement in Great Britain and Northern Ireland in dialogue with local Bulgarians.
Topics: #voted #foreign #minister
What voting methods were available to Bulgarian citizens voting abroad?