Blunder Bans Bulgarian MEP from Voting in Local Elections

Bulgarian Liberal Member of the European Parliament from the quota of the party of former Tsar and Prime Minister, Simeon Saxe-Coburg, NMSP, Antoniya Parvanova. Photo by BGNES

Antoniya Parvanova, a Bulgarian Liberal Member of the European Parliament, has been removed from the voters' lists for the local elections in Sofia.

The noted reason is that the MEP, from the quota of the party of former Tsar and Prime Minister, Simeon Saxe-Coburg, National Movement for Stability, NMSP, has been living in England in the last six months – something Parvanova says she was not aware of.

She discovered that she had been banned from voting after she checked the voter registration lists. Parvanova was given the explanation that there has been an error in the system of the Interior Ministry and her permanent address for the last six months was designated as being in the UK.

The MEP insists this is a true paradox since she never had an address there and is at loss how the Interior acquired such false information.

Parvanova's permanent address has been listed for years in Sofia, in the Izgrev (Sunrise) district. She had voted during the 2007 and 2009 elections and, in 2007, even was candidate to become Mayor of Sofia.

The blunder comes on the backdrop of wide-spread outrage and numerous complaints from Bulgarians abroad, reporting that diplomatic representations are creating a number of obstacles to those who want to take part in the October 23 presidential elections. The expats threaten to stage protest rallies across the world at Bulgarian Embassies and Consulates.

There have also been numerous violations in the election process in Bulgaria, many of which include irregularities in voters' registration and violations of voting rights.

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