Bulgarian President Yotova vetoes Electoral Code amendments
Bulgarian President Iliyana Yotova said on February 11 that she vetoed amendments to the country’s Electoral Code, which would drastically reduce the number of polling stations abroad in non-EU countries.
The bill passed by Parliament last week limits the number of polling stations outside Bulgarian diplomatic and consular missions in non-EU countries to no more than 20, a move that will have a massive effect in particular in Türkiye, the United States and United Kingdom.
Yotova said in her motives that the amendments would infringe on the right to vote of Bulgarian nationals residing outside the EU, as well as the constitutional principle of equality of Bulgarian citizens.
Additionally, the bill risked further undermining public trust in the electoral process and ran counter to the stated desire “by representatives of state institutions, politicians, NGOs and citizens” to encourage voter turnout, Yotova said.
Bulgaria’s constitution grants the head of state a limited power of veto, through enabling the President to return legislation to the National Assembly for further discussion.
The National Assembly may overturn the President’s veto through a simple majority vote or accept the veto and review the vetoed clauses.
This is Yotova’s first veto. Her predecessor, Roumen Radev, made liberal use of the power, vetoing 46 bills during his nine years in office before stepping down last month.
His resignation came as Bulgaria heads towards early parliamentary elections in the spring, the eighth time since April 2021 that Bulgarians elect a legislature, with Radev expected to participate with a political project.
(Iliyana Yotova photo: president.bg)
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