site.btaAmendments to Election Code Passed Conclusively

Sofia, September 17 (BTA) - After two days of debates Parliament
 passed conclusively amendments to the Election Code on
Thursday. The MPs resolved that voting at the next elections
will be possible by both paper ballots and machines, and the
voters will choose how to exercise their right to vote. The
Central Election Commission (CEC) is tasked with the provision
of the technical equipment for machine voting, by renting or
purchasing it. The amendments were passed in a 116-65 vote with
three abstentions.

The State Agency for Electronic Governance, working together
with the Bulgarian Standardization Institute and the Bulgarian
Institute of Metrology will verify the compliance of the
technical devices for machine voting with the relevant
requirements. The verification will be performed within a term
of up to 30 working days after delivery of the voting machines.

Parliament also resolved whereby the CEC determine the technical
 requirements regarding the hardware and software of the voting
machines.

Opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) MP Filip Popov said
that the institutes tasked with the verification of the
compliance of the voting machines had stated, clearly and
categorically, in the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee that
 they cannot take on such an obligation. Popov further argued
that the CEC was again burdened with activities outside its
remit, that powers and responsibilities of the executive power
are shifted onto the CEC which will compromise the voting
process. In his words, this will cause chaos and confusion.

Parliament also passed amendments in respect of the data in the
tally sheets and the tallying of machines votes.

Votes confirmed in the machine voting are to be equal in number
of the slips printed out by the system.

Voting section tally sheets will have data about the total
number of invalid, wrong and destroyed ballots, in aggregate,
and not separately. Also, the number of voters on the electoral
rolls and of voters added to the rolls subsequently will too be
stated in aggregate.

The BSP MPs took a stand against the provisions. MP Kroum Zarkov
 argued that the provisions will deal a blow on the transparency
 of the elections, noting that it is inconceivable to hide
important information under the cover of the need to simplify
the tally sheets.

In a 63-99 vote the MPs rejected conclusively a motion by the
ruling GERB party to have special terms and procedure for
election of representatives in a Grand National Assembly. The
motion required whereby half of the MPs in the 400-seat Grand
National Assembly are elected by a proportional voting system,
and the other half, by a majority voting system.

The MPs also resolved that a national referendum may be held
also regarding questions about the competence of the Grand
National Assembly. The amendment to the Act in Direct
Participation of People in the State Power and Local
Self-government was proposed by the VMRO party, part of the
power-sharing coalition), in the Final Provisions of the bill
amending the Election Code. The motion was not supported in the
Legal Affairs Committee but was passed in the plenary chamber in
 a 114-61 vote with two abstentions.

Another motion from VMRO was voted down, to reduce the requisite
 number of residents for the establishment of a mayoralty, from
350 to 200, who could elect a mayor. RI/ZH