Bulgaria’s 2013 elections: The numbers
These are some of the key numbers in Bulgaria’s May 12 2013 national parliamentary elections.
The electorate: 6 868 455 eligible voters, according to the Central Election Commission. At the end of 2012, according to the National Statistical Institute, Bulgaria’s population was 7 282 041.
The budget: 21 million leva (about 10.5 million euro), voted by the Cabinet.
The contestants: Thirty-eight parties and seven coalitions.
The candidates: In all, 8148. The Dossier Commission has identified more than 140 of these are former agents of communist-era State Security.
The prize: 240 seats in the 42nd National Assembly.
Voting hours: 7am to 8pm, Bulgarian time and local time at polling stations abroad. With the permission of the Central Election Commission, polling stations may open at 6am. If there are still voters queuing at 8pm, election officials may record their names and voting may be allowed to continue, but no later than 9pm.
Polling stations: In Bulgaria, 11 676, abroad, 227 in 57 countries.
Applications to vote abroad: 78 542.
Observers: There will be 257 international observers, 28 from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, four from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, 109 from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 105 from the Party of European Socialists and 29 from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Fifteen registered Bulgarian organisations to observe the elections, 15.
Polling agencies conducting exit polls: Seven.
Investigations: 26. Bulgarian prosecutors had 26 ongoing pre-trial investigations into allegations of electoral fraud as of May 9, including 12 probes into suspected vote-buying.
(Photo: Rama)
