site.btaTurnout at Remote Electronic Voting Referendum Too Low for Success but Yes Votes Enough to Put Matter on Parliament's Agenda

Turnout at Remote Electronic Voting ReferendumToo Low for Success but Yes Votes Enough to Put
Matter on Parliament's Agenda

Sofia, October 25 (BTA) - By 5:00 p.m., turnount in the national referendum on remote electronic voting, held simultaneously with the local elections on Sunday, was 31.5 per cent, Central Election Commission Spokesperson Kamelia Neikova said, citing final figures. More than 71 per cent of those who cast ballots in the referendum voted "yes".

For the referendum proposal to be accepted, at least as many voters as those who cast ballots in the latest parliamentary elections (in 2014, i.e. 3,500,585) must have turned out. As the eligible voters for Sunday's referendum total 6,885,893, the 2,169,129 who participated in the balloting were too few for crossing this threshold beyond which the national Assembly would have been obliged to enact the decision.

This turnout, however, along with an overwhelming 72.45 per cent "yes" vote (compared to 27.55 per cent "nos") met a condition to put the matter on Parliament's agenda: voter participation exceeding 20 per cent of eligible voters (i.e. 1,377,179-plus) and more than half of the valid votes being "yes" votes. The National Assembly has to address the matter and make public its resolution within three months.

The Reformist Bloc electorate were most active in the referendum: 92 per cent of them cast ballots, followed by GERB's 90 per cent. The turnout among the Bulgarian Socialist Party faithful was 82 per cent, and among the supporters of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, 48 per cent.

The Central Election Commission registered 30 parties, one coalition and eight initiative committees for the 30-day information and awareness campaign on the national referendum. Twenty-four parties, one coalition and three initiative committees campaigned in favour of remote e-voting, including GERB, the Reformist Bloc and ABV. Six parties (including Ataka) and five initiative committees declared themselves against the proposal.

Commenting from Brussels of what happens next after the referendum, GERB leader and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov expressed the hope that "Parliament will pass a resolution enabling electronic voting, especially for expatriates."

"I am sorry that the referendum did not achieve the success we all expected," GERB Deputy Chairman Tsvetan Tsvetanov said. He is confident that at a later stage Bulgarians abroad will be able to vote by electronic means and assured journalists that GERB have done their best for this.