site.bta Negligible Difference between Number of People with Voting Rights Announced by Civil Registration Authority and Number with Valid IDs

ESD 16:18:00 08-09-2014
ZH1617ES.121
121 POLITICS-ELECTIONS-VOTERS DATA

Negligible Difference between Number of People with Voting
Rights Announced by Civil Registration Authority and Number with
Valid IDs

Sofia, September 8 (BTA) - The difference in the number of
people with voting rights announced by the Directorate General
of Civil Registration and Administrative Services and in the
number of people with valid ID cards is negligible so that it is
wrong to allege the presence of "one million dead souls on
electoral registers," Deputy Interior Minister Filip Gounev said
during a meeting of the Citizens' Board for Fair Elections on
Monday.

Gounev said that as at September 1, the people with valid ID
cards totalled 6,769,000. Added to these are 51,000 people with
old but valid passports, 14,252 people who hold only foreign
travel passports, 89,000 people with expired ID cards, and
78,000 people who are entitled to ID cards but have not obtained
one. In 2011 the people who had the right to be issued an ID
card but did not have one were about twice as many, 141,000, he
said. In September 8 through to October 5, when the elections
are to take place, 7,800 people will come of age, and will be
able to obtain ID cards and vote, Gounev said.

At least 600,000 people with valid ID cards who are on electoral
registers live abroad, Gounev said.

Mihail Mirchev of the Citizens' Board for Fair Elections, who
chaired the meeting, said that the data of the Directorate
General of Civil Registration and Administrative Services raise
a question about the data of the National Statistical Institute,
showing that the Bulgarians of age are about 6 million people.
The Directorate General of Civil Registration and Administrative
Services said recently that voters in Bulgaria number 6.9
million people. VI /ZH/