Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee Approved the Use of Scanning Devices for Voting in the Upcoming Snap Elections

At a late-night sitting on Janiary 21, MPs from the Legal Affairs Committee adopted at second reading the amendments to the Election Code. The sitting lasted almost 14 hours and ended early this morning.

The committee approved the introduction of scanning devices for voting with paper ballots, on which voters will mark their choice by hand. The machines will record the results, while the scanning device will collect the ballots in a sealed ballot box, which will not be opened by the polling Station Election Commission. The machine will also issue a vote receipt, which will be placed in a separate box.

A proposal by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) for the changes to enter into force from 1 January 2027 was rejected. However, a proposal by GERB was adopted stipulating that if the new machines cannot be secured for the forthcoming snap elections, voting will continue with the devices used in the previous election and with paper ballots, at the voter’s choice.

The committee also approved a proposal by the Vazrazhdane party to limit the number of polling stations in countries outside the European Union. In such countries, a maximum of 20 polling stations may be opened outside diplomatic missions. This proposal was opposed by We Continue the change - Democratic Bulgaria, MRF–New Beginning and Alliance for Rights and Freedoms.

The amendments are yet to be considered at second reading in the plenary chamber, where all proposals submitted by the parliamentary groups will again be put to the vote.

The adopted changes have triggered strong political tension. The opposition criticised both the substance of the amendments and the way in which they were passed, pointing out that it has become a tradition for changes to the Election Code to be made in the small hours of the night.

Particular concern was voiced over the introduction of the so-called scanning machines. Opposition parties argue that there is insufficient time for the machines to be purchased or leased, delivered, and prepared for the upcoming snap parliamentary elections.

Photos by BTA

MPs of “There Is Such a People” (TISP), which submitted most of the proposals, defended the changes, saying there was enough time for the machines to be leased and delivered, as suppliers abroad had sufficient quantities available. They also pointed out that the draft amendments oblige the Council of Ministers to secure the machines within one month of the final adoption of the law. If this does not happen, voting will revert to the old method – paper ballots and the existing machines.

The opposition sees this as a trap. They argue that preparing the old machines alone requires 55 days, meaning that if the new machines are not delivered in time, the country will be left with paper-only voting.

The BSP reiterated its position that the scanning machines should be introduced, but only from 1 January 2027, and that until then voting should continue as it is now.

Bozhidar Bozhanov, WCC–DB:
“The governing parties are committing an attack on the electoral process. They are proposing scanners they do not even understand how they work. It became clear in committee that GERB and MRF are hiding from debate and have tasked their subcontractors from TISP with doing the dirty work.”

Asen Vasilev, Chair of 'We Continue the Change':
“This is an attack on fair elections. The second stamp on the paper ballot is removed, the comparison of the ballot paper number with the envelope has been dropped, certification of the new scanners is removed. Only 3% of the polling stations will compare the ballots with what the machine has reported. Polling stations abroad are being closed. They are trying to rig the vote. The only way to stop this is through protest readiness. Preparing the old machines takes 55 days, so the only option left will be voting with paper ballots.”

Tsveta Rangelova, 'Vazrazhdane':
“The time envisaged in this bill for the purchase of machines that no one knows what they should be in terms of technical parameters is infinitely insufficient and in this sense this condition cannot be met and only paper ballots voting will be used. The aim is to win the next elections administratively and to carry out massive electoral fraud.”

Radostin Vasilev, Morality, Unity, Honour (MECH):
“This is sabotage of the elections. The idea is to have no machines at all in these elections and to move to 100% paper voting.”

Toshko Yordanov, TISP:
“The beauty of this type of voting is that the polling station commission observes the process directly and does not have to serve the machine. The ballots fall into a sealed box. At the end of the day, the machine only scans and counts, and prints a protocol showing how many ballots are inside and who voted for whom. The commission will not fill in anything.”

photos by BTA

Maya Dimitrova, BSP:
“We are not sabotaging the elections. It is precisely for this reason that we are proposing a delayed implementation of the law. Regarding what should remain, in our view, if the new law comes into effect on 1 January 2027, voting will take place using both paper ballots and machines. Therefore, we are not sabotaging anything, which is why we have proposed this deferred application of the legislation.”

'We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria' warned the government to act as it did with the state budget and to withdraw the proposed changes to the Electoral Code if it wishes to avoid facing the wrath of public protest.

Ivaylo Mirchev, co-chair of “Yes, Bulgaria”, said: “These amendments must be withdrawn immediately and this madness stopped. Otherwise, people need to be ready to protest, and the authorities will face the full force of public opposition.”

Slavi Trifonov (leader of TISP) wrote on Facebook that the proposals put forward by his party are a year old. He added that WCC–DB had long since lost touch with reality. He suggested that some individuals appear to see themselves as leaders of the protest. Trifonov expressed his belief that the Bulgarian people are wise, and that sooner or later the truth will prevail – both regarding the ‘fist’ and the ‘rubbish’.