Only 8 of 634 people on the voter list in one polling station in Burgas's Pobeda district had voted by 2pm in the election for president and vice-president. Violeta Todorova, head of the station's election commission, told Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).
The Hristo Botev school has 8 polling stations, and they were almost empty. There were no voters in the school corridor, and commission members sat with nothing to do. Some people walked into the yard without knowing what the vote was about.
Most of those voting are Roma residents. Todorova said turnout was higher in earlier elections. "It is a bit hard for them, but they cope with the machines," she said.
A man who had already voted told BNR he thinks many people in Pobeda have not managed to vote on the machines. He has two children, aged 13 and 17. His grandmother wants to vote but cannot use the machine. "In the old days, with paper ballots, people more or less managed, but not everyone can manage these machines," he said.
He said people stay away because their hopes have been betrayed and promises are not kept. Each time, he said, residents vote hoping for change and a better future for their children, and they want more jobs.
On 25 October we reported that by 11am in Burgas municipality, including its villages, 7,730 people had voted, or 4.18%. It was among the areas with the lowest turnout in the region.
The man described the district as closed off, with many illegal houses that need to be legalised. Some residents pay tax on their homes, and for electricity and water, like everyone else, he said. He added that he pays too.