Balgarianovinite.com Hours before Election Code amendments would be considered by the parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs on Wednesday, politicians commented on ideas concerning possible changes to election rules. Machine voting and its possible abolition, preservation or transformation were the central issues discussed in the comments. The committee meeting was eventually called off.
Proposals to revise Bulgaria’s Election Code have been made in connection with the prospect of early parliamentary elections this spring. Snap elections seem inevitable following the December 12 resignation of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s government and considering the reluctance of parliamentary groups mandated by President Rumen Radev to form another regular government under the current 51st National Assembly.
Continue the Change leader Assen Vassilev said that the most suitable date for elections is March 29 and warned of attempts to sabotage machine voting with unfeasible plans for introducing new vote counting devices. Vasilev described the planned introduction of a new type of voting machine in under two months as a “most dangerous” move. According to him, new machines cannot be introduced in such a short time; the plan is actually aimed at reverting to a paper-only voting technology by making it impossible to use new machines in these elections. Vassilev blamed the alleged sabotage on GERB, MRF – New Beginning, and There Is Such a People.
BSP-United Left MP Nataliya Kiselova said that the Election Code should not be amended, warning that last-minute changes could pose risks. Kiselova said that, with nine parliamentary groups, many members of the polling station commissions might only be there in name and may not actively help run the elections. “Any change to any law at the last moment can carry risks,” the former parliament chair noted.
According to Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov, the draft amendments to the Election Code tabled in parliament are nothing less than large-scale election fraud. The proposed revisions eliminate the human factor entirely, reducing the role of election commissions at polling stations solely to copying the protocol generated by scanning machines. The proposal of the Vazrazhdane party is to have machines that are controlled by the election commission, which would check and count the ballots and compare them with the data from the voting machine’s protocol. According to Kostadinov, this way the machine and the people in the commission will control each other, and this is the surest way to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
MECh leader Radostin Vasilev said it would be best not to touch the Election Code in this parliament, with this majority. Vasilev sees an attempt to sabotage the voting machines used in elections. In order to prevent their use, so-called “counting devices” are being introduced at polling stations, he said. Fair elections can only be held by a majority that genuinely wants fair elections, regardless of the outcome, Vasilev argued. Politicians Comment on Possible Changes to Election Rules 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-14 15:53:00 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