The Central Election Commission (CEC) has officially adopted a decision regarding the unified numbering system to be used for polling stations across the country during the upcoming presidential and vice-presidential elections, scheduled for October 25, 2026. According to the Commission's regulations, each established polling station will be identified by a unique nine-digit number, where the first digits directly correspond to the number of the respective electoral district.
For the purposes of the electoral process, the numbers for a total of 31 electoral districts have been defined as follows:
- 01 – Blagoevgrad
- 02 – Burgas
- 03 – Varna
- 04 – Veliko Tarnovo
- 05 – Vidin
- 06 – Vratsa
- 07 – Gabrovo
- 08 – Dobrich
- 09 – Kardzhali
- 10 – Kyustendil
- 11 – Lovech
- 12 – Montana
- 13 – Pazardzhik
- 14 – Pernik
- 15 – Pleven
- 16 – Plovdiv
- 17 – Plovdiv Region
- 18 – Razgrad
- 19 – Ruse
- 20 – Silistra
- 21 – Sliven
- 22 – Smolyan
- 23 – Sofia-23
- 24 – Sofia-24
- 25 – Sofia-25
- 26 – Sofia Region
- 27 – Stara Zagora
- 28 – Targovishte
- 29 – Haskovo
- 30 – Shumen
- 31 – Yambol
Under the adopted decision, municipal mayors are required to issue an order establishing the polling stations no later than September 4, 2026, which is 50 days before the date of the vote. In this document, they must explicitly confirm the numbering and addresses of the stations. By the same deadline, mayors are obliged to send the lists of addresses to the Directorate General for Civil Registration and Administrative Services (GRAO) at the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, and to notify the relevant District Election Commission (RIC) of any subsequent changes to the addresses.
The mayor's order determining the stations must be made public. Interested parties have a three-day period from its announcement to challenge it before the regional governor, who, in turn, must issue a public decision within three days. The regional governor's decision can be appealed before the relevant administrative court, also within a three-day period. The court considers the case in an open session within three days of receiving the appeal, summoning the parties involved. It is important to note that an appeal does not suspend the execution of the procedure, and the court's decision is announced immediately and is not subject to further review.
For its part, the District Election Commission (RIC) is required to form the unified station numbers in its district no later than September 19, 2026 (or 35 days before election day), following the rules set by the CEC. This RIC decision is also subject to appeal through the Commission within a three-day period. In addition to the organizational aspects, the government has already approved the budget plan for holding the presidential elections, with the total amount of secured funds amounting to 116,928.0 thousand euros.