site.bta Foreign Minister Warns of Member Shortage in Expatriate Voting Commissions

Foreign Minister Warns of Member Shortage in Expatriate Voting Commissions

Sofia, August 26 (BTA) - Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said on
Wednesday there is a risk that not enough members will be
recruited to the commissions in charge of expatriate voting
during the Bulgarian referendum on October 25. The political
parties, particularly those represented in the National
Assembly, should provide assistance to address the issue, Mitov
told journalists after the Council of Ministers' weekly meeting.

He said any such commission abroad should include a
representative of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, and the other
members should be recruited by the political parties concerned.
It is necessary to find enough people willing to join the
commissions and offer them decent pay for such a demanding job,
Mitov argued.

The October 25 referendum will be about whether to make remote
electronic voting possible during political elections and
referendums. The referendum will be conducted simultaneously
with local elections. Bulgarians abroad can take part in the
referendum, but not in the local elections.

The Foreign Minister also expressed his concern that voting
sections will be set up even in countries where only a small
number of Bulgarian voters will turn out at the referendum, as
in Turkey and Spain. This is so because the Central Election
Commission is required to set up more than 430 voting sections
abroad, the rule being that such commissions must be available
in areas where 100 or more Bulgarians took part in the latest
Bulgarian elections.

Yet another issue is that the people who will be working with
the commissions abroad will be practically unable to vote in the
 local elections. Mitov said a way should be found to post these
 people abroad without violating their voting rights.

He recalled that in the latest Bulgarian elections some 600
civil servants bid to join the commissions abroad and 388 of
them were posted.