Bulgaria’s Parliament Moves to Scrap Machines, Raising Fears of Election Manipulation

In a controversial move just months ahead of the parliamentary elections, Bulgaria’s parliamentary majority is pushing through sweeping changes to the voting system that would eliminate machine voting and replace electronic vote counting with manual scanning of paper ballots. The proposals, discussed during Thursday’s legal committee meeting, are contained in a roughly 200-page report outlining amendments to at least 222 provisions of the Electoral Code. The working group behind the document, whose members have not been publicly identified, is said to include deputies from the majority as well as committee experts. The proposals were released only an hour before the committee convened.

Outgoing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev responded to concerns from the We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria parliamentary group during Friday’s Question Time, arguing that election technology should not replace political debate and the contest of ideas. His comments came in response to a question directed at outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, who was absent due to official obligations.

Donchev emphasized that the Council of Ministers’ role is to provide logistical support for elections, while the Central Election Commission retains the primary responsibility. Both institutions are legally bound to adhere to existing regulations. When asked about funding for new voting devices, Donchev noted that the state currently has no dedicated budget, with only spending ceilings carried over from the previous year and no allocations for investment costs. He also criticized the longstanding practice of making last-minute changes to the electoral process in prior elections.

The proposed shift to paper ballots and away from electronic voting has raised concerns about transparency and potential vulnerabilities, as critics argue it could facilitate irregularities and reduce public confidence in the integrity of the vote.