Today we vote in regular local elections that will determine the future of local government for the next four years. After the Central Election Commission's latest decisions, however, this time voters will only be able to vote with a paper ballot.
The ballots in which we will have to mark our vote for the elections on Sunday are more than those for the parliamentary elections: for municipal councilors, for the mayor of a municipality, for the mayor of a district, and for the mayor of a town hall.
According to the Electoral Code of local elections, all Bulgarian citizens who have reached the age of 18 on election day have the right to vote, with the exception of those placed under interdiction and serving a sentence of "imprisonment".
Since the vote is for local authorities, the voter can only vote in the settlement where his permanent address is - the one recorded on his identity card, or where he is registered at his current address.
The ballot for the election of municipal councilors is separate from that for the mayor. Each party or coalition has 1 list in a municipality. This clarification applies to Sofia, which in parliamentary elections is divided into 3 constituencies, each of which has its own MPs. In local elections, the citizens of all of Sofia jointly elect their representatives to the Metropolitan Municipal Council.
In addition to parties and coalitions, independent candidates for municipal council have the right to run.
The local elections are held in two rounds, but the second is only for the mayoral lists and only if none of the candidates gathers the necessary support from more than 50% of the ballots cast. There is no runoff for the election of municipal councilors.
The composition of the Municipal Council in the given settlement is finally elected on October 29.
Ballots for mayor of a municipality, mayor of a district and mayor of a town hall are different, and they have different candidates, since they are different positions.
Elections for regional mayors are held only in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna, as they are the only cities with regional divisions.
Elections for the mayor of a town hall are held in settlements that, on the date of promulgation of the decree on scheduling the elections, have a population of more than 100 people with a permanent address. This means that not all villages will vote for a mayor - where fewer than 100 voters are registered, the elected mayor of the municipality to which the village belongs will appoint deputy mayors.
In order to be elected mayor, the candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote of the voters in the respective settlement. If in the first round none of the candidates manages to gather the necessary support, there is a second round - the so-called runoff. Only the two contenders with the highest results from the first vote take part in it. The runoff takes place exactly one week after the first round - now the date is November 5.
In order for the voter to cast his vote, it is necessary to have a valid identity card, which is presented on the spot, or a document from the Ministry of the Interior that an application for the issuance of an identity card has been submitted by the respective voter. The offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for issuing identity documents work overtime during elections. Every Bulgarian citizen with electoral rights can check the number and address of the polling station where he will vote in the elections.
It is also possible to vote at the current address, but a prior application for inclusion in the electoral roll of the relevant administration must have been submitted for it, and this must have happened before October 14. If there is no such application, you can only vote at your permanent address.
In local elections, there are no polling stations abroad. With a current address outside the country, Bulgarian citizens cannot even vote in local elections. This is the so-called "principle of sedentariness".
On October 29, the election day will start at 7:00 a.m. and end at 8:00 p.m. If there are people waiting in front of the sections after this time, voting can be extended, but by a maximum of one hour - until 9:00 p.m.
In this election, voters can only vote with printed paper ballots.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) advises that before you cast your vote, check whether the ballot is clean - there are no traces of signs or other distinguishing marks. Then you head to the polling place.
With a blue pen, you mark with an "X" or "V" a preferred candidate and/or municipal list of a party or coalition. There is a separate paper ballot for each election.
The sign is placed within the box with the number of the selected candidate, party and/or coalition. You can vote preferentially for municipal councilors. Once you have done this, fold the ballot so that your vote is hidden and the special second stamp area on the ballot remains at the top. Before dropping the ballot into the ballot box, the second seal must be affixed by a member of the CEC and the paper strip must be torn from the ballot, which is dropped into a separate opaque box. If even one of the conditions is not met, you risk having your vote declared invalid.
The voter has the right to vote with preferences in the lists for municipal councilors. For this purpose, he must know in advance the number of the candidate he wants to support in the list he has chosen and note it in the ballot. The numbers of the candidates for preference are written in circles on the right side of the ballot and are from 100 upwards.
When voting with a paper ballot, place an "X" or "V" in the circle on the right side of the ballot left for preferences.
To switch party alignments on the candidate list, a candidate must have received a personal preference of more than 7% of citizens who voted for the party list of which he is a part. The candidates with the most preferences above this threshold rearrange the list, and in theory it is possible that even the last one in it becomes the first.
All local election ballots have an option to vote "I support no one". Votes are counted only for voter turnout and do not affect the final tally of the vote. /BGNES
