site.btaCentral Election Commission: Elections Draft Estimate Is BGN 12 Mln

Rositsa Mateva, Deputy Chair of the Central Election Commission (CEC), told bTV on Friday morning that the draft estimate for the snap parliamentary elections on April 2 is BGN 12 million. This estimate is to be approved on Friday by the Council of Ministers, she said and added that it provides for expenses not only for the CEC, but also for all other institutions involved in the organization of the elections, such as municipalities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mateva noted that ten constituencies will see a change in the number of seats. The total number of 240 seats, which is the number of seats in parliament, must be distributed according to the latest census, she explained. Six constituencies have their seats reduced by one, and three districts will have one more seat. Sofia's 23rd Multi-member Constituency will have three more seats.

The CEC Deputy Chair pointed out: "In two calendar years, this will in fact be the sixth election we have organized. [...] There are challenges now, as a result of the amendments to the Electoral Code, we have to organize some of the election activities differently".

Mateva confirmed that the Bulgarian National Bank printing house has offered a schedule of paper deliveries for the voting machines. "The paper will be available, we have chosen the design, the protection has been determined," she said. The voting process itself using a machine will not change.