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Local elections

On 29 October, 2023, Bulgarians are voting for local authorities – mayors and municipal councilors. A little over 6 million 48,000 people have the right to vote. In this section you will find information, commentaries and analyses about the local elections in Bulgaria. 

The first round of local elections has ended

At 8 pm local time, the first round of the regular local elections in Bulgaria has ended. According to the Central Election Commission, the voting took place normally and without significant violations. In Sofia, a run-off between Vasil Terziev..

published on 10/29/23 8:34 PM

Voter turnout in local elections

According to data from the Exit poll of the Gallup International Balkan sociological, which is a partner of the BNR for the local vote, the voter turnout at 7 pm in the elections for mayors  in Sofia was 36.0% , in Plovdiv - 33.7%, in..

updated on 10/29/23 7:39 PM
Rositsa Mateva, chairperson of the Central Election Commission, at briefing on October 29

CEC: 34.16% is the voter turnout in the country by 4:00 pm

Voter turnout in the country by 4.00 pm. was 34.16%, CEC spokeswoman Rositsa Mateva announced at a briefing. The highest voter turnout was in the village of Chelopech near Sofia - 75.15%, and the lowest in Dobrich - 23.18%. In several mayorships,..

published on 10/29/23 6:55 PM
Finance Minister Assen Vassilev

Curious facts from Bulgaria's local elections day

A candidate for mayor of Kyustendil cannot vote for himself because he is registered at a current address abroad, the Municipal Administration told BNR. Finance Minister Assen Vassilev failed to vote in the local elections in his hometown of..

published on 10/29/23 6:50 PM
President Rumen Radev

Leaders urge people to get out and vote

"The most important thing is that we all vote, that we ensure peace on election day. And that we have confidence that every Bulgarian's vote will be counted correctly," said President Rumen Radev . Vice President Iliana Iotova stated that..

updated on 10/29/23 5:18 PM

In local elections, small votes can swing the result

In local elections, the environment is much more fragmented and all sorts of surprises are possible, with smaller pools of votes able to influence the outcome.  "As you can see, the electoral process is susceptible to political technology,"..

published on 10/29/23 11:08 AM
Parvan Simeonov

Exit polls are an additional guarantee of fair elections

BNR's partner in covering the elections is Gallup International Balkan. The agency's director, Parvan Simeonov, said that on election day the pollsters would conduct an exit poll and a parallel vote count. He urged voters to respond to the..

published on 10/29/23 9:30 AM

Local elections day in Bulgaria

Today, 29 October, Bulgaria holds the first round of regular elections for mayors and municipal councillors in a total of 265 municipalities. These elections are seen as a test of the country's governance. The coalition partners in the Cabinet and..

published on 10/29/23 7:05 AM
PM Nikolai Denkov, briefing, 28 October, 2023

PM Nikolai Denkov urges Central Election Commission to reconsider its decision to do away with machine voting

In response, Rositsa Mateva stated, in an interview with bTV, that all municipal election commissions have to obey the CEC’s decision, and that there will be no machine voting in the country. She said she did not understand how the municipal..

published on 10/28/23 3:37 PM
The protst in Sofia

Protests against the abolition of machine voting in Sofia and Varna

On the day before the local elections in Bulgaria, protests against the abolition of machine voting and the attempts at election fraud are taking place in Sofia as well as in Varna. Central Election Commission decides voting at tomorrow's..

published on 10/28/23 1:59 PM