Parliament Holds Hearing on October 2024 Election Results Limbo, Is Told about 780 “Lost Votes”

Information Service CEO Ivaylo Filipov (down), Central Election Commission Chair Kamelia Neykova (right on second row) and Deputy Chair Rositsa Mateva during a parliamentary hearing, Sofia, March 11, 2025 (BTA Photo/Vladimir Shokov)

Sofia,

11.03.2025 18:09

(BTA)

Parliament held a hearing of the leadership of the Central Election Commission (CEC) and election service provider Information Services, as it is trying to understand who did what regarding a constitutional case on the lawfulness of the October 2024 elections. During the hearing, it heard information about 780 votes that were lost as a result of a recount of votes ordered by the Constitutional Court (CC).

What led to the hearing

After the October 2024 elections, the CC was approached by several parties challenging the lawfulness of the voting. As part of the case it opened, the Court hired experts to do a new count of the ballots in some 2,204 polling stations and once the recount was done, it instructed the Central Election Commission to recalculate the results. CEC, in turn, asked Information Services to do the recalculation. On March 10, Information Services said that all relevant paperwork had been provided to the prosecuting magistracy. In an unprecedented statement, the Constitutional Court said that providing the election papers to the prosecutors without its permission hindered its efforts to conclude the case challenging the election results.

A total of 191 MPs in the 240-seat legislature registered for the hearing. In the plenary hall for the hearing were Central Election Commission Chair Kamelia Neykova, her deputies Dimitar Dimitrov, Emil Voynov, Rossitsa Mateva and Tsvetozar Tomov, Secretary Sevinch Solakova and Commission members.

780 “lost votes”

Information Service CEO Ivaylo Filipov told the MPs about seven "problem voting sections". "For two of these sections, the Constitutional Court’s experts [who did the vote recount] put down zero votes for all political parties and candidates, despite votes being cast both by machine and on paper. In one section, all voting by paper ballots was scrapped, effectively reducing the count to zero, while in four others, all machine votes were eliminated." Filipov pointed out that video surveillance clearly shows both machine and paper ballots in the transparent ballot boxes in these seven voting sections.

"The total number of votes that were lost for all political parties, is 780, including 739 for the parliamentary parties and Velichie" [which was 21 votes short of making it into Parliament], said the Information Services CEO.

He went on to offer a breakdown of the "disappeared votes" by party. Of those, MRF - New Beginning has 242, GERB-UDF 134, Vazrazhdane 103, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria 92, BSP - United Left 55, There Is Such a People 35, MECh 33, Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (later transformed into Democracy, Rights and Freedoms) 13 and Velichie 32.

Filipov explained that as these 780 votes are scrapped from the valid votes, the 4-percent barrier will drop by 31 votes.

Asked by GERB-UDF if these 780 votes will impact the 4-percent barrier for entry in Parliament, CEC Chair Kamelia Neykova explained that the valid votes for the said seven sections - three in Stara Zagora, two in Blagoevgrad, one in Kardjali, one in Sofia's 23rd constituency - have been reduced by 780.

In the words of CEC Deputy Chair Emil Voynov, these 790 "lost votes" will barely have an impact. "If 780 votes are removed from the total base on which the 4% is calculated and the 32 lost votes for Velichie are removed, there will be no consequence for Velichie in particular. The barrier will go down in term of votes but Velichie will have 32 votes less and its result in percentage terms will be the same," he said.

CEC Deputy Chair Rositsa Mateva said that CEC first heard from a March 7 letter by the Constitutional Court about "the lost ballots"

BSP - United Left asked where the ballots were "lost": at the Constitutional Court or the municipal administration.

Mateva said that CEC only made logistical arrangements and a schedule for the mayors and the regional governors to bring the bags with the election materials to the Constitutional Court.

CEC Chair Kamelia Neykova said that they cooperate fully with and fulfill the tasks assigned by the Constitutional Court, and would never hamper the Constitutional Court as it does its job. She went on to offer a detailed account of the steps taken by CEC and Information Services in relation to the Constitutional Court case - to this day, when they handed to Information Services all paperwork and instructed them to perform the recalculation of votes by 9am on Wednesday.

As he addressed the hearing right after the opening, Parliament Deputy Chair and BSP - United Left Floor Leader Dragomir Stoynev said that the Constitutional Court, CEC, Information Services and the prosecution service "created a tangled knot instead of working together, with no regard for the impact on ordinary people".

/NF/