Minister Sharkov to OSCE observers: security and transparency of technologies in the elections are a priority

The Minister of Electronic Governance, Georgi Sharkov, and his team from his political cabinet held a working meeting with representatives of the OSCE/ODIHR Mission for election observation on the occasion of the early parliamentary elections scheduled for April 19, 2026. The conversation focused on the technical provision of the vote and the role of the Ministry of Electronic Governance in this process.

During the meeting, the key activities of the ministry related to the elections were presented - the authentication of voting machines and the organization of video surveillance during the counting of ballots and the completion of protocols after the end of election day, starting from 8:00 PM. Minister Sharkov outlined these two components as the main technological pillars of trust in the results.

He emphasized that for the institution, security and transparency of all technological processes are paramount. "We strongly rely on your previous experience as external election observers in Bulgaria, in order to be able to ensure a secure and transparent process. Our first mission as the Ministry of Electronic Governance is to secure the technical part of the machine vote and video surveillance, but the second is to contribute to the overall transparency of all processes, so that people can be calm that all types of technical processing are secure enough to have a fair count and results," said the minister.

Regarding the voting machines, it was explained that their authentication includes control over the software used, its secure construction and installation, as well as subsequent monitoring of its work. The goal is to guarantee the reliability of the machine vote and to minimize the risk of technical problems or unauthorized intervention.

Video surveillance was defined as a key tool for transparency in reporting results. A system for online broadcasting from all sections in the country during the counting after the end of election day is planned, and the recordings will be stored so that they can be used in subsequent checks and analyzes, if doubts or disputes arise.

The Ministry is building on the experience of previous elections and is introducing additional measures to increase the reliability of the systems. These include improving the connectivity of the devices, a preliminary technical inspection of the phones that will be used for video surveillance, before signing the contract with the contractor, as well as the introduction of centralized monitoring of their activity during election day.

On the part of the Ministry, it was emphasized that every step of the election process that can be public will be made as accessible as possible to the public. The aim is to increase citizens' trust in the fairness of the vote and in the fact that the technical processing of data is carried out according to transparent and controllable procedures.

The representatives of the OSCE/ODIHR Mission informed that their long-term observers are already working in Bulgaria, and short-term teams will also be deployed during the campaign and on election day. They will monitor the preparation and conduct of the elections, including the practical application of the measures for machine voting and video surveillance presented by the Ministry.