site.btaInformation Services Provides Details on Election Data Requested by Prosecuting Magistracy

Information Services, Bulgaria’s national system integrator, came up with a statement saying that on March 10, 2025, in response to a request based on a prosecutors’ act, the Sofia City Prosecution Office (SCPO) requested all materials related to the computer processing and data entry of the protocols concerning the recalculation of the October 27, 2024, parliamentary election results. Those materials had been sent by the Constitutional Court through the Central Election Commission (CEC).

Information Services stated that they did not provide SCPO with the protocols sent by the Constitutional Court or any copies of them. "The company returned all original documents received from the CEC, which had been provided by the Constitutional Court. Information Services does not possess copies or originals of these protocols. The company fully cooperates with all competent state institutions regarding Constitutional Case 33/2024," Information Services’ statement further reads.

The Information Services team emphasized the company’s crucial role in processing election results. They recalled that, according to the Election Code, "CEC publishes the scanned protocols before announcing the final results, as well as open data in a machine-readable format for all elections since 2003. This allows election participants and external experts to analyze and verify the data, ensuring full transparency and accuracy of the final results," the company explained.

On Monday, commenting on the recalculation of the parliamentary election results, Constitutional Court President Pavlina Panova stressed that the activities of the Constitutional Court must not be impacted by the actions or inactions of other state bodies. Her statement followed the news that earlier on Monday, Information Services submitted all paperwork related to the recalculation of the October 27, 2024 parliamentary elections to the prosecuting magistracy. In Panova's words, the data were handed to the prosecuting magistracy without the Court's permission, hindering the Court’s efforts to conclude the case challenging the election results.

According to Panova, after the Court gave its instructions, CEC posed additional questions on three occasions, and the Court responded promptly each time. "Nevertheless, on Friday, March 10, after 6 p.m., the Constitutional Court was informed that CEC continues to neglect its assigned task because Information Services handed over the materials related to the constitutional case, along with technical carriers and devices, to the Sofia City Prosecution Office without the Court’s permission," Panova said. She added that only the Constitutional Court has the authority to determine the legality of parliamentary elections, and all state institutions must fully cooperate instead of impeding its work.

Panova’s statement was followed by reactions of political parties in the 51st National Assembly.

Earlier in March, Information Services published a letter to the CEC dated March 6, containing findings of possible technical errors in the paper-based election protocols provided to them.