Balgarianovinite.com President Iliana Iotova opened consultations with representatives of parliamentary parties and coalitions in the 52nd National Assembly on Tuesday on the appointment of a new composition of the Central Election Commission (CEC), following the expiry of the current members’ terms of office. During the consultations, the parties presented their nominees for the election body.
Iotova described CEC as one of the institutions that form the foundation of Bulgaria’s democratic processes and said it was important to form a commission that enjoys public trust. She said the procedure should follow the law and ensure the legitimacy and stability of the electoral process.
President’s Secretary for Legal Affairs Ivelina Dimitrova explained the method for allocation of the seats on CEC. Dimitrova said the balance among parliamentary parties and coalitions is preserved through the largest remainder method and that, when parties have equal remainders, priority is given to the smaller parliamentary group.
Seats on CEC are allocated among the parliamentary parties and coalitions based on the number of seats they hold in the 52nd National Assembly and the number of seats on CEC. Progressive Bulgaria, with 131 seats, has a quota of 8.1875; GERB-UDF, with 39 seats, has a quota of 2.4375; Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), with 37 seats, has a quota of 2.3125; the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), with 21 seats, has a quota of 1.3125; and Vazrazhdane, with 12 seats, has a quota of 0.75.
The whole-number allocations account for 13 seats. The largest remainder rule is then applied to allocate the remaining two seats. As a result, one seat goes to Vazrazhdane, which has the largest remainder, and one to GERB-UDF, which has the second-largest remainder.
Progressive Bulgaria would have a majority of eight members on CEC, while the maximum permissible number is seven. That seat must therefore be allocated to one of the remaining parliamentary groups, MRF or CC-DB, which have equal remainders. In such a case, the seat goes to the smaller parliamentary group.
Democratic Bulgaria Deputy Floor Leader Bozhidar Bozhanov challenged this explanation, saying that different legal interpretations could lead to different outcomes, but mathematics was a more exact science. Bozhanov argued that the presidential decree contained an error in calculating party quotas and that the current situation was unprecedented because one party held more than half the seats in Parliament while the Election Code prevented it from holding more than half the seats on CEC. Bozhanov said this could be verified in CEC’s most recent decision on the allocation of section election commissions for partial local elections, and warned that applying the presidential administration’s interpretation to slightly different election results could leave CEC understaffed.
Bozhanov asked whether the President’s administration had sought an opinion from CEC, which has applied the method in its decisions for years, and argued that, if no such opinion had been requested, the consultations should be postponed until one is obtained.
Bozhanov later said that, unless the presidential decree setting out the rules for appointing CEC members is amended, Democratic Bulgaria’s only remaining option would be to challenge it before the Constitutional Court and seek backing from the other parliamentary groups.
Responding to the objections, Iotova said the presidential institution was applying the Election Code as adopted by Parliament. “When we started work on the rules, we worked with the text of the law as adopted. The law did not envisage a party holding an absolute majority,” Iotova said.
She added that the Hare-Niemeyer system, also known as the largest remainder method, was not always especially fair in mathematical terms, but the presidential institution had to work within the existing legal framework. Iotova told Bozhanov that seeking a court ruling was the coalition’s right and urged participants to keep the discussion technical rather than political. She added that the presidential administration had sought numerous legal opinions on the electoral rules.
At the end of the consultations, Iotova said the proposed candidates for the new CEC will be heard on June 12, provided all requirements have been met.
Progressive Bulgaria nominated Georgi Horozov for CEC chairperson. The party also proposed lawyers Desislava Abrasheva, Zinaida Zlatanova and Ivan Karchev, cybersecurity specialist Yordan Vasilev, Lazarina Haralampieva and political scientist Stoyanka Tsvetkova as members of the commission.
GERB-UDF nominated lawyer Yordanka Gancheva for CEC secretary. GERB-UDF’s Raya Nazaryan said the second-largest parliamentary group should receive the secretary post. If no such agreement is reached, GERB-UDF proposed Gancheva for deputy chairperson of the commission. Lawyers Georgi Bahanov and Anna Alexandrova were nominated as CEC members.
The Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria coalition nominated Alina Dobreva and Vyara Todeva for membership of the commission. Bozhanov said the coalition would not nominate a deputy chairperson as a sign of disagreement with the calculation method “or whatever this procedure is called”.
The Movement for Rights and Freedoms nominated Ismail Osman for CEC secretary and Tsvetan Enchev for membership of the commission.
Vazrazhdane nominated lawyer Margarita Mahaeva for CEC member and deputy chairperson.
Gancheva was later selected by lot as the candidate for CEC secretary after two political forces nominated candidates for the post. GERB-UDF nominated Gancheva, while MRF nominated Osman. After the draw selected Gancheva, MRF nominated Osman for deputy chairperson.
Later on Tuesday, Vazrazhdane Deputy Floor Leader Peter Petrov also said the party disagrees with the proposed mathematical model for the composition of CEC. “In accordance with our constitutional rights, we declare that we will seek support to gather the minimum number of signatures from MPs to challenge the presidential decree on the composition of CEC before the Constitutional Court,” Petrov said. President Iotova Opens Consultations on New Central Election Commission, Parties Clash Over Seat Allocation 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-06-09 19:59:00 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