site.btaParliament Rejects President's Veto on Revisions to Election Code Concerning Expatriates

Parliament Rejects President's Veto on Revisions to Election Code Concerning Expatriates

Sofia, May 18 (BTA) - Parliament Wednesday overcame with 135 votes in favour, 27 against and 3 abstentions the President's veto on recently adopted amendments to the Election Code related to voting sections abroad. The vetoed revisions were supported by GERB, the Reformist Bloc, the Patriotic Front, the Bulgarian Democratic Centre and Ataka. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms voted against the amendments, while BSP-Left Bulgaria and ABV did not take part in the voting.

The overcoming of the head of State's veto required at least 120 votes in favour. The debates on the vetoes texts of the Election Code continued for around three hours.

Last week, President Rosen Plevneliev vetoed the newly adopted provisions of the Election Code which restrict the voting rights of Bulgarian expatriates, arguing that the Election Code should ensure fair elections both in and outside the country but that this should not lead to unequal treatment of Bulgarians abroad.

The amendments caused expatriates' discontent and their representatives held a series of meetings with the parliamentary represented political forces.

The parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee, following its extraordinary sitting on Tuesday, proposed that the MPs do not re-adopt the vetoed amendments and hold new debates on them.

Ahead of Wednesday's debates on the vetoed revisions, the Patriotic Front parliamentary group said it would withdraw its support for the Government unless the head of State's veto was rejected. Patriotic Front Co-Chairman Krassimir Karakachanov told journalists that he expects around 130 votes against the President's veto in Parliament.