© Lily Touchek
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that twice as many sections will be opened in the upcoming parliamentary elections abroad compared to April, while at the same time there are fewer people willing to vote there than in April. The reason for this is believed to be that in the summer many Bulgarians will return for a vacation here. One week ago, the CEC announced that there would be a record number of polling stations abroad in the upcoming vote.
According to the data released by the ministry, the number of applications for voting so far is 37 thousand, and the sections that will be opened are expected to be 800. In the UK, where people traveled for hours and lined up, and some even failed to vote in April, 130 sections will now open, 48 of them in London. In Turkey, they are expected to be around 110. The last National Assembly changed the text of the Electoral Code adopted some time ago at the suggestion of the so-called patriots, which limited the number of constituencies outside the EU to 35.
The leadership of the working group “Elections” in the ministry appealed to Bulgarians abroad to submit declarations, because this will facilitate the voting process, BTA reported. People who leave without submitting a declaration must be registered by the members of the sectional election commission, and this takes time, they explained.
The ministry expects clear and unambiguous methodological instructions on some issues, including the staffing of sectional election commissions. To date, about 4,500 people are needed in about 740 sections, and these numbers are growing. We have exceptional problems with the staffing of 60-70 sections, commented Kalin Anastasov from the working group “Elections” at the ministry. “We know from experience that the parties do not have the capacity to fill all the seats in the sectional election commissions, so we are ready to send about 350-400 people from Bulgaria, and our foreign missions are in constant contact with the Bulgarian communities, which we expect to fill the rest. places, “he explained.
The CEC is also expected to specify the number of paper ballots that each section commission must have, at what point it will switch from machine to paper voting, if there are force majeure circumstances and by what algorithm, instructions are also expected for the technical support of machines on the day of the vote.
The Ministry also clarifies that if it has to commit to the delivery of the machines to the sections, it must start 20 days in advance. Meanwhile, a week ago, at a briefing, the CEC announced that it had already been agreed that the machines would be delivered with diplomatic cargo, and from there to the logistics sections that the ministry would take over through its on-site missions.
The agency has difficulty finding facilities that meet health protocols, as July is an active tourist month and vacation time, and many of the facilities where elections have been held so far have been closed or relocated.
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