Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee Rejects President's Veto on Changes to the Election Code

The Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee on February 24 rejected President Iliana Iotova’s veto on amendments to the Election Code of Bulgaria missions outside the European Union to 20. The vote was 11 in favour, eight against and one abstention. Whether the veto will ultimately be overridden will now be decided in the plenary chamber.

At the previous vote, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) supported the restriction of the number of polling stations abroad. However, the party’s executive bureau has now called on its MPs to back the President’s veto.

• President Vetoes Election Code Changes Limiting Number of Polling Stations Abroad

Just before another election, the voting rules are still subject to change. President Iliana Iotova returned the changes to the Election Code on the grounds that the amendments deliberately put barriers in the way of Bulgarians' right to vote outside the European Union. Iotova also acknowledged the danger that the changes would undermine public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process.

Members of the Vazrazhdane supported the proposal to cap polling stations at 20 in countries outside the EU.

MP Petar Petrov explained: “This is intended to limit controlled and dependent voting in Turkey. I do not expect problems in the US or the UK. The main issues have always been in Turkey, where there have traditionally been over 160 polling stations since GERB, MRF and There Is Such a People amended the law in 2021.”

GERB also supports the limit on the number of polling stations.

Deputy Branimir Balachev, MP from GERb - UDF: “Where the state cannot adequately control polling stations abroad, numbers should be reduced. In some countries, voting from abroad is not allowed at all. Anyone who cares for our homeland should come here to vote.”

Opponents of the Election Code changes describe them as unconstitutional.

MP Nadezhda Yordanova of 'We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria' said: “Five days after the announcement of the date for national early elections, and contrary to good practice in any democratic society, we are discussing fundamental changes to the electoral rules.”

MP Hamid Hamid from 'MRF - New Beginning': “Every Bulgarian citizen has the right to vote, no matter where they are. We are categorically opposed to dividing Bulgarian citizens based on the country they reside in.”

MP Yavor Haitov of Alliance for Rights and Freedoms: “When the President has expressed herself so clearly and imposed a veto, we should support it. It is no secret that wherever our President appears internationally, people recognise her authority.”

MP Hristo Rastashki of MECH (Morality, Unity, Honour): “We did not support the bill because we consider it unconstitutional and socially unacceptable to make such changes at the last moment.”

Ultimately, the President’s veto was rejected with 11 votes in favour — from GERB, Vazrazhdane, There Is Such a People (TISP), and one BSP MP. The BSP executive bureau has urged its parliamentary group to support President Iotova’s veto.

BSP leader Krum Zarkov said: “Parliamentary mathematics shows that the parties supporting this restriction — Vazrazhdane, GERB and TISP — together have 115 MPs. Six more votes are needed. It is a matter of party conscience that these six should not come from BSP, as this would seriously damage our principled stance on citizens’ political rights and our support for President Iotova.”

MP Bozhidar Bozhanov of WCC-DB added: “It appears this may be a deal to ensure that a loyal BSP party member is appointed as deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank. It seems they waited for Peevski’s ministers to return to Parliament to regain a majority and overturn the Electoral Code amendments.”