Bulgaria's '2 in 1' Elections Spared BGN 8 M - FinMin

Bulgaria spared over BGN 8 M in state budget money by carrying out its local and presidential elections on the same date in 2011, the country's Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has stated.

The centrist-right GERB cabinet spent a total of BGN 39.3 M, while BGN 47.4 would have been spent if the polls were held separately, Djankov has estimated by adding up the costs of the 2006 and 2007 elections and taking inflation into consideration.

On Friday, MPs from the oppositional left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party demanded an explanation from Djankov as to why the government spent 50% more than the BGN 26 M estimate for the "2 in 1" elections that took place at the end of October 2011.

The Finance Minister answered by pointing out that the spared money was enough to cover the rehabilitation of the Tvarditsa-Elena mountain pass.

According to the official Finance Ministry account that was revealed last week, half of that overspent money was used by Bulgaria's Ministry of Interior.

The Interior Ministry has commented that this was necessitated by excessive working hours of police officers, after the election day had to be extended in many areas

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