Phantom Voters in Bulgaria 'Surpass 1.2 M'

Mihail Konstantinov (C), presently a member of the Civic Council for Free and Transparent Elections, as attending the first session of the council in end-August. Photo by BGNES

About 1 200 000 "phantom voters" can be found in Bulgarian elections lists, Mihail Konstantinov, formerly a high-profile official in charge of elections, believes.

Konstantinov, who is a former Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Deputy Chairman and also headed Information Services (a state-owned company counting the ballots), told the Bulgarian National Television that phantom voters carried a high risk of abuses.

He also argued their presence within the lists undermine public trusts, and this "is something far more dangerous".

Konstantinov called for the introduction of an "active registration" method that in his view would properly address the issue.

"A person who is not in Bulgaria should not be in election lists here. Those who are in the country and want to vote, [should] state their wish and are included in the lists," he elaborated.

Stefan Manov, who is heading civic councils of Bulgarians abroad, exapleined the lists were based on population data including all Bulgarian citizens with a birth certificate and a Uniform Civil Number (EGN).

Manov said "dead souls" appeared there when a certain municipality did not have information of people who had passed away.

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