Bulgarian Parliament Backs at First Reading the Limits on Polling Stations Outside EU

Bulgaria’s Parliament on January 29 approved at first reading a proposal by Vazrazhdane party to reduce the number of polling stations in countries outside the European Union to 20. At the same time, MPs rejected a proposal by the 'We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria' (WCC–DB) alliance to restore the full functionality of voting machines by reinstating the machine-generated protocol.

The debates on the amendments to the electoral legislation were marked by scandals, insults, sanctions and repeated interruptions of the plenary sitting.

More than five and a half hours of heated arguments unfolded in the plenary chamber. The sitting was interrupted seven times, twice in order to calm tensions and prevent physical clashes, both between parliamentary groups and between individual MPs. Six personal sanctions were imposed by the Speaker, Raya Nazaryan, including the temporary removal of one MP from the chamber.

• Parliament in Turmoil Over Proposal to Limit Polling Stations in Non-EU Countries

Support for the amendment by Revival sparked rebukes from the other opposition parties and doubts about whom it supported.

Support for the proposal by Vazrazhdane prompted sharp criticism from other opposition parties and raised suspicions about whose interests were being served.

Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of Vazrazhdane, said:
“You cannot claim to be fighting for fair elections in Bulgaria while allowing blatant, large-scale electoral fraud in Turkey. Forty-eight thousand people voted in Turkey at the latest election. In all other non-EU countries combined, the total was 33,000.”

Nadezhda Yordanova, WCC–DB, responded:
“What you are doing is a treacherous deal in someone’s private interest. In Turkey, for example, 71.54% of voters did not support ‘MRF - New Beginning’. In other words, Peevski gives the orders and you carry them out.”

Radostin Vasilev, leader of MECh (Morality, Unity, Honour), said:
“Have you sold youselves? There is no logic. Once again, Vazrazhdane will pass a bill with the support of GERB. What you are doing helps Peevski against Dogan.”

Yuliana Mateeva of Velichie added:
“Today is a sad day for the Bulgarian parliament, because one party wants to deprive thousands of Bulgarian citizens abroad of their right to vote.”

From GERB, MPs recalled that they had consistently supported limits on polling stations abroad and criticised WCC–DB.

Alexander Ivanov, GERB–UDF, said:
“In 2016, the GERB parliamentary group supported such a bill, and we will do so again now. Let us also remind everyone that for 21 years it was you, together with the MRF, who removed this restriction.”

The Alliance for Rights and Freedoms party described the proposal as discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Pavlin Naydenov, ARF, said:
“How are we to explain this to nearly one million Bulgarian citizens living in North America? That they must travel for dozens of hours and waste time just to vote? Or is this a way of punishing them?”

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) was divided on the issue.

Natalia Kiselova, BSP – United Left, said:
“The debate has become unparliamentary. It has raised ghosts that should not be let out of the bottle.”

Clashes over voting machines

The tensions continued during the discussion of PP–DB’s proposal to restore the machine protocol and machine-based vote counting.

Toshko Yordanov, There Is Such a People (TISP), said:
“Ask Ivo Mirchev what he said about these machines before they were introduced and about concerns over the software. If you truly wanted fair elections, you would have supported our proposal for scanning machines.”

Ivaylo Mirchev, WCC–DB, replied:
“Bring the machines out. Bring those who claim they can hack them and let them show us how. They cannot, they cannot, they cannot.”

Georgi Krastev, GERB–UDF, said:
“We have no problem. GERB–UDF has won elections both with machines and with paper ballots. We are not afraid. But introducing 100% machine voting will not solve the problem of trust or corporate voting.”

The turmoil in the chamber continued, culminating in the removal of MP Manol Peykov after he poured water over a parliamentary usher who was trying to restore order.