Election Recount in Bulgaria Sparks Protests: Government and CEC Resignations Demanded

Protests have erupted in Sofia as demonstrators demand the resignation of the government, members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), and the dissolution of the 51st National Assembly. "Buditelite" (Awakeneres) civic initiative has vowed to stage daily demonstrations in front of the National Assembly's entrance until April 17. Meanwhile, the "Justice for Everyone" initiative is organizing a nationwide protest over the election recount scandal, set to begin at 6 PM in front of the Palace of Justice before moving toward the so-called "triangle of power." The protest is being held under the slogan "Who is blocking the Constitution?"

The controversy stems from the ongoing recount of the parliamentary election results from October last year, mandated by the Constitutional Court. The state-owned company "Information Service" is tasked with processing data from 2,204 voting sections, with a deadline set for this morning. Court-appointed experts have already reviewed 17% of the protocols and found discrepancies in nearly half of them. The new calculations aim to clarify whether the 4% threshold for entering parliament has been affected and whether there will be changes in the distribution of parliamentary mandates.

A major point of contention is the handling of votes from seven polling stations where ballots were reportedly missing. The CEC and "Information Service" have acknowledged discrepancies involving 780 votes, which had initially been counted in the section commissions' protocols but were now absent from the records. The missing votes were distributed among all parties, with 32 of them allocated to the Velichie party.

The recount has sparked an institutional standoff after the Constitutional Court accused "Information Service" of obstructing its work by reporting the missing votes to the prosecutor's office before completing the recount. According to the court’s directive, the affected polling stations will be recorded with zero votes in the recalculations. The CEC, however, has stated that these adjustments are unlikely to change the overall election outcome or allow Velichie to surpass the 4% threshold required for parliamentary representation.

During a heated three-hour parliamentary session, "Information Service" assured lawmakers that the recalculations would be completed on time. There is now a proposal for experts who conducted the verification of the 2,024 sections to be questioned before the start of the next National Assembly session.

Ivelin Mihaylov, leader of the "Greatness" party, has claimed that a source within the CEC provided details about the missing votes linked to his party. He stated that Velichie lost 41 votes in the recount, while "Information Service" reports the party should have gained 32 new votes. Velichie had fallen just 21 votes short of entering parliament, and if their calculations hold, Mihaylov’s party would secure 10 seats in the National Assembly.

Tensions escalated further on Tuesday as GERB accused "Greatness" of being the only party receiving insider information from the Constitutional Court. Mihaylov countered, suggesting that GERB was also receiving updates through party channels. He also declared that if Velichie enters parliament, they would join forces with "Revival" to push for the government's removal.