Balgarianovinite.com Parliament Wednesday rejected, 126-86 with 11 abstentions, President Iliana Iotova’s veto on amendments to the Election Code, which limit to 20 the number of voting sections in Bulgarian elections in non-EU countries. The vote of the MPs from the Socialists’ BSP – United Left group was critically important for the fate of the veto, and what happened was that the group split halfway with some backing it and other voting to defeat it, essentially securing the votes to override the veto.
The amendments to the Election Code were supported by the parliamentary groups of GERB-UDF, Vazrazhdane, three deputies from MRF – New Beginning, eight from BSP-United Left, the group of There Is Such a People, and two independent MPs. The “against” votes came from Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC–DB), Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF), Velichie, 24 deputies from MRF – New Beginning, seven from BSP-United Left, and three MPs not affiliated with any parliamentary group. Deputies from MECh and one independent MP abstained.
According to the President, the amendments as adopted jeopardize the principle of universal suffrage proclaimed in the Constitution. She cites a Constitutional Court decision enjoining the State to ensure to each Bulgarian citizen conditions to exercise their franchise freely and without obstacles of any nature whatsoever. Also, she pointed out that the revisions deliberately bar Bulgarian voters outside the EU from the exercise of their right to vote.
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Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Krum Zarkov told reporters that the veto was defeated due to the votes of 8 MPs of his parliamentary group, who purposefully went against the political decision of the BSP Executive Bureau to back the veto. This behaviour of theirs is absolutely unacceptable, and they will no longer be MPs of BSP in the next parliament, Zarkov underscored. He specified that the MPs in question are former BSP leader Atanas Zafirov, former labour minister Borislav Gutsanov, former regional development minister Ivan Ivanov, Dragomir Stoynev, Kiril Dobrev, Maya Dimitrova, Deyan Dechev, and Petar Kanev.
Former prime minister and current MP of GERB-UDF Rosen Zhelyazkov told reporters that the majority which rejected the veto was predictable, as was the joint vote of CC-DB and MRF – New Beginning. Asked about criticism that the Election Code amendments were adopted shortly before the upcoming early elections, Zhelyazkov said that such amendments have long been part of the political agenda. “When elections catch us unprepared and we do not have the predictability of a regular four-year term, we cannot expect electoral legislation to remain unchanged,” he said.
CC-DB leader Assen Vassilev said during the debate that Vazrazhdane’s claims that the Overseas constituency restricts citizens’ rights are false, and that the real limitation comes from the cap of 20 voting stations outside the EU. MP Nadejda Iordanova said her parliamentary group is concerned over the state of Bulgarian democracy: six days after the election was scheduled, changes are being made to limit the voting rights of citizens outside the EU. She emphasized that the 20-station limit poses serious obstacles and asked why the proposal was based on data from the last parliamentary elections, which had low turnout. She called it an “ugly political deal”, where some parties seek an advantage and others seek to punish voters.
Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov told journalists that with the vote, Bulgarian people achieved victory in defending Bulgarian statehood. “Bulgarian statehood has been steadily eroding for years, and voting in Turkiye, mass illegal voting, was one of the most significant problems for the democratic electoral process,” Kostadinov said. According to him, “anyone who has sworn to uphold the laws and Constitution of the country and to be guided by the people in all their actions should have voted in support of Vazrazhdane’s proposal and not for the veto of [former president Rumen] Radev’s spokesperson, who, like him, took on the role of defender of a foreign country, in this case Turkiye.” In Kostadinov’s words, GERB is doing “what we tell them to do, and as you can see, they did exactly what we told them to do.”
Three MPs of the MRF – New Beginning made a mistake and will correct their votes on President Iotova’s veto, the group’s Deputy Floor Leader Iskra Mihaylova told journalists. The correction of the three votes will not change the veto’s rejection. The three MPs are Ivo Tsanev, Nikolay Zlatarski and Nadya Petrova. “It is not that they changed their mind, it was just a technical error,” Mihaylova explained, noting that the three sit in the back of the debating chamber, and around the time of the vote there was much noise and no order in the chamber.
The Alliance for Rights and Freedoms will refer the matter to the Constitutional Court, Deputy Floor Leader Tanner Ali told reporters. He added that thanks to three votes from MRF – New Beginning, along with two independent MPs during the second vote, the Election Code revisions were adopted at second reading. “Today [Wednesday] the masks fell. Until now they managed to act with BSP, GERB and There Is Such a People whenever they needed a majority or wanted something of theirs to pass – MRF – New Beginning managed to persuade MPs or even entire parliamentary groups. But today [Wednesday] they did not. They are hiding behind some curtain because their conscience is bothering them,” Ali said.
MECh Floor Leader Radostin Vasilev told journalists that he expects high voter turnout in Turkiye despite the small number of voting sections. “The arrangement between Vazrazhdane, There Is Such a People, GERB, eight MPs from BSP, three from MRF – New Beginning, and two independent MPs has worked and President Iotova’s veto was rejected. Kostadinov received a lot of negative feedback about what he did,” said Vasilev. The Chair of MECh explained that Vazrazhdane’s proposal was only for the sections in Turkiye to be limited. “We are against it, because restricting citizens does nothing for democracy. The damage is for Kostadinov – he has lost those who voted for Vazrazhdane in Europe,” Vasilev continued.
Velichie MP Stiliana Bobcheva said that her parliamentary group backs the veto, which gives the National Assembly an opportunity to reconsider its responsibility to the fundamental principles of the constitutional order. The Velichie party has expressed serious concerns that the adopted amendments introduce restrictions that affect the rights of Bulgarian citizens abroad. According to the parliamentary group, the changes, made at the last minute and without sufficient public debate, create a risk to legal certainty and undermine confidence in the electoral process.
Independent MP Andrey Chorbanov noted during the debate that both positions – supporting and opposing the veto – have valid reasoning and relate to ensuring fair elections. He said the constitutional right to vote is not being removed, as anyone can vote if they travel to a polling station abroad. Parliament Rejects President’s Veto on Election Code Revisions, Sparkling Intragroup Division 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-02-25 16:57:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
