site.btaBulgarians Abroad to Vote in 719 Polling Stations in 57 Countries

Bulgarian citizens abroad will have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote in the October 27 snap parliamentary elections in a total of 719 polling stations in 57 countries, the press centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday. The Foreign Ministry has successfully prepared and transported election papers, materials and voting machines to all polling stations outside the country.

Most polling stations will be opened in Turkiye - 168, followed by the UK - 112, Germany - 66, Spain - 64, the US - 53, Italy - 27, the Netherlands - 25, Greece - 23, France - 17, Austria and Belgium - 16 each, Canada - 15 polling stations. 

A total of 51 polling stations will be opened in the Istanbul Region and 49 in the Bursa Region. This is nearly two thirds of the polling stations to be opened in Turkiye, the Bulgarian Consul General in Istanbul, Vasil Valchev, told BTA.

Machine voting will take place in a total of 157 polling stations - with 79 machines in Turkiye, 21 in Germany, 14 in the UK, six each in Spain and the US, five each in Austria and Greece, four in the Netherlands, three each in France and Belgium, two each in Canada, Cyprus, Czechia and Switzerland, with one machine each in Luxembourg, Norway and Serbia.

By Friday, the last shipments of bulletins and papers will arrive, which are already travelling by courier as diplomatic pouches to distant destinations by air - Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Iceland, Norway, UAE, Algeria, Georgia, Russia and China, as well as to some countries in the Balkans by road. 

The information on the addresses of the opened polling stations abroad by country is published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the section "Elections".

Address information is updated in case of changes. The Foreign Ministry recommends that Bulgarian check the specific addresses the day before the elections. For further convenience, a map of polling stations outside the country is also published on the same website, which provides additional information on the location of polling stations.

Bulgaria's diplomatic and consular representations are in contact with the local authorities and are ready to react in case of difficulties in order to guarantee the right to vote of the Bulgarian citizens, the Foreign Ministry added.