site.btaNew Election Bill Submitted to Parliament

New Election Bill Submitted to Parliament

Sofia, May 26 (BTA) - Forty-seven MPs of GERB, the Patriotic Front, the Reformist Bloc and the Bulgarian Democratic Centre submitted a new bill to amend and supplement the Election Code, the National Assembly's Legal Affairs Committee Chairman Danail Kirilov (GERB) told journalists on Thursday.

The bill comes after earlier Election Code amendments survived a veto attempt by President Rosen Plevneliev but still left many politicians and members of the public dissatisfied with what they saw as restrictive provisions affecting expatriate voters. The President threatened to petition the Constitutional Court.

Kirilov now explained that the new proposals concern Article 14 of the Election Code, which is about the establishment of overseas voting sections for Bulgarian political elections. The new draft amendments envisage that up to 35 voting sections may be set up in any foreign country which may or may not be an EU member. The sections will be established in settlements where at least 60 voters have submitted applications expressing their desire to vote. No applications will be required for the establishment of voting sections in Bulgarian embassies and consulates.

Under another proposed amendment, mayoral elections will be held in settlements with at least 350 residents, instead of the current limit of 400 residents.

Kirilov said the bill can be discussed by the competent parliamentary committees next week and possibly reach the debating chamber the week after next. He hopes the President will approve the new changes.

He expects the new provisions will reassure expatriate Bulgarians that their voting rights are not curtailed and that the Bulgarian government has taken a common general decision about election voting. Kirilov believes that the proposed maximum of 35 voting sections is suitable even for the largest Bulgarian communities abroad, be they in Britain, the US, Spain, Central Europe, or Turkey.