site.btaMunicipal Election Commissions Are Competent to Draw Lots for Numbers on Ballot Papers - Court

Municipal Election Commissions Are Competent to Draw Lots for  Numbers on Ballot Papers - Court

Sofia, September 17 (BTA) - The Municipal Election Commissions (MEC) are competent to draw the lots for the numbers of parties on the ballot papers, according to a decision to this effect taken by the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) on Thursday.

According to the Election Code, the lots can be drawn by the Central Election Commission (CEC) in exceptional cases, explicitly envisaged in the law, i.e. when local elections are held simultaneously with presidential elections but not when they are conducted at the same time with a national referendum, SAC says in its decision, based on a complaint filed by the United People's Party.

In fact, CEC has "misappropriated" a competence of drawing a lot for determining the serial numbers of parties, coalitions and independent candidates at local elections although such is not envisaged in an explicit statutory norm or the Election Code.

SAC declared the CEC decision null and void. The ruling of the court is final.