Bulgarian Voter Applications Abroad Double Ahead of April 19 Elections

The number of Bulgarians living abroad who have applied to vote in the early parliamentary elections on April 19 has nearly doubled compared with the last vote in October 2024. By the March 24 midnight deadline, a total of 60,897 electronic applications had been submitted, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC). Chairperson Kamelia Neykova described the surge as dramatic, noting that just over 30,000 applications were submitted in the previous election.

The largest numbers of applications came from Turkey, with more than 15,500 submissions, followed by the United Kingdom with 10,400, Germany with around 8,000, and the United States with nearly 4,000, BNR reported. The increase demonstrates a significant rise in engagement among Bulgarians abroad, nearly doubling the participation compared with the October 27, 2024 elections, when 30,688 applications were registered.

Following the deadline, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will compile the applications by country and location and forward the data to the CEC. By March 28, the commission must finalize the number and locations of polling stations outside Bulgaria. For countries outside the European Union, the latest amendments to the Electoral Code set a maximum of 20 polling stations outside diplomatic and consular missions, while the regulations for EU member states remain unchanged.