Regional Governors Receive Election Ballots, Ministry of Interior Provides Security

Regional governors are starting to receive the printed ballots for the upcoming early parliamentary elections today, with the Ministry of Interior (MIA) providing security for the process of receiving them and for the polling stations. This was announced by Vanya Nusheva, advisor to the caretaker Prime Minister on elections, during the regular briefing of the Coordination Council for the preparation of elections.

Nusheva pointed out that during the past week, institutions of the executive branch have been working intensively on the organization of the elections, and another busy week is ahead. According to her, the MIA, in addition to guarding the ballots and polling stations, is also carrying out preventive and investigative activities related to violations of citizens' electoral rights.

The Coordination Council made a recommendation to higher education institutions to organize the work of their administrations so that students can receive the necessary documents for voting in a timely manner.  According to the Electoral Code, students who study in another city can vote after presenting a certified student record book or a certificate, and some higher education institutions already use electronic student record books. 

“It is extremely important for us that all Bulgarian citizens can vote and realize their electoral rights”, said Nusheva. She emphasized that young people showed activity during the protests in November and December and expressed a desire to participate in the governance of the country.

Nusheva also announced that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already completed the processing of applications for voting abroad, has published the lists of voters and the addresses of the sections abroad, and today is ready to present a map with the location of the sections.

Consultations for the compositions of the section election commissions abroad have also been held, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide one of its representatives in each section, she added.  Regarding logistics, Nusheva pointed out that the packages with the election documents and materials have been prepared, as well as the transport schemes for their timely delivery. A schedule for the delivery of the voting machines is also expected.

The Ministry of Electronic Governance has completed the process of certifying the conformity of the machines, building the software and generating the hash code for the elections. According to Nusheva, all these actions were carried out under the guidance of the Central Election Commission and in the presence of representatives of parties, as well as Bulgarian and international observers.

For the first time in the ministry's contract with “Information Services” AD, there is a possibility to check whether the phones used for video surveillance in the sections emit a signal during the counting of ballots and the completion of protocols. Nusheva explained that a check will be carried out periodically, and if a problem is found, the regional election commissions will be notified to take the necessary actions.

Measures have also been taken to ensure accessibility of the electoral process for visually impaired citizens. The Ministry of Electronic Governance has developed an option for generating QR codes, through which the visually impaired can receive information about the lists of participants in the elections.

Nusheva defined the actions taken as an important part of the preparation of the elections and stated that the institutions will continue their coordinated work in the coming days.