Bulgarians Go to the Polls to Elect New Parliament

Bulgarians go to the polls today, April 19, to elect the 240 members of the 52nd National Assembly.

More than 6.5 million people are eligible to vote.

A total of 14 parties, 10 coalitions and one independent candidate are taking part in the election. There are nearly 12,000 polling stations across the country, while 493 stations have been opened abroad in 55 countries.

Voting machines will be available in more than 9,300 polling stations in Bulgaria. For the first time, 100% of the machines have been checked ahead of the vote, with around 100 civil servants involved in the process. Until now, the practice had been to inspect roughly one-third of the devices.

Also for the first time, 400 tactile templates will be available to assist visually impaired voters wishing to cast their ballots. These will be distributed among polling stations for people with disabilities in Sofia, Plovdiv and Blagoevgrad, where, according to the Union of the Blind, the largest number of visually impaired people reside.

The public broadcaster will follow the election day from 06:55 until the final analysis on election night. Exit poll results provided by polling agencies will be projected onto the building of the national television broadcaster.