Bulgaria’s President Sends Disputed Changes to Election Rules Back to Parliament

Bulgaria’s President Rosen Plevneliev has sent back to Parliament for further consideration parts of recent changes to the Electoral Code that set restrictions on voting outside the country.

More specifically, the presidential veto [BG] concerns changes to Article 14 which, according to Plevneliev, put at disadvantage Bulgarian expats on account of their place of residence.

"I cannot accept the legislature to create mutually exclusive rules reproducing mutually exclusive policies," Plevneliev said in the motives to the veto.

Limits to the number of polling stations than can be opened in Bulgarian embassies and consulates will make it more difficult to vote for Bulgarians living abroad.

"The [Electoral] Code should ensure fair elections both at home and abroad, and I support any democratic change in that direction. However, this should not come at the cost of unequal treatment of Bulgarian citizens living beyond the borders of Bulgaria, " Plevneliev said.

“The attempt to to fight poor electoral practices must not create national disunity,” he added.

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