Bulgaria GERB Resuscitates Voting Abroad Ban

The co-Chair of the temporary Parliamentary Committee on the Election Code from the ruling GERB party, Iskra Fidosova, says the requirement that people running for local mayors have a college degree will not be passed. Photo by BGNES

The texts, discussed by the temporary Parliamentary Committee on the Election Code, include a proposal to introduce the so-called “residency” requirement for the upcoming presidential elections in Bulgaria.

The text, yet to be voted by the Committee, provides that only Bulgarian citizens, who have resided in the county for a certain period of time, should be allowed to cast their vote for president while the length of the period is not specified, the Bulgarian “Dnevnik” informs.

Such restrictions already apply for local elections where only individuals, who have resided in the respective municipality in the last 10 months, can vote. A similar requirement was also introduced for the elections for European Parliament – 3 months for EU citizens, living in Bulgaria and 3 months for Bulgarians, living in EU Member States.

Introducing the requirement for the upcoming presidential elections restricts the vote of Bulgarians abroad, especially if it would include the mandate to have a registered address in Bulgaria. This is not the first time the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party puts the issue on the table. In a pre-election speech, now Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, vowed to ban voting abroad, while a while ago, ex Foreign Minister, Rumiana Jeleva, and the co-Chair of the temporary Committee, Iskra Fidosova, launched the idea to limit the vote only within the EU.

Fidosova declined answering media questions Tuesday and explaining how the text ended in the proposed Election Code, but hinted the Members of the Parliament from the far-right, nationalist Ataka party are behind the idea over the desire to halt voting in neighboring Turkey.

Fidosova pointed out the GERB parliamentary group is yet to issue an official statement, adding her personal opinion is that citizens' rights must not be restricted.

The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party already said they are firmly against the ban. The right-wing Blue Coalition had not yet made an official statement.

The majority will reject another proposal – the requirement that people running for local mayors have a college degree. According to Fidosova such requirement is unacceptable for GERB.

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