Bulgaria approves 117 million euro budget for presidential elections

The Bulgarian Council of Ministers has approved a budget of approximately 117 million euros for the upcoming presidential and vice-presidential elections. This funding will cover voter list preparation, printing, logistics for regional and municipal administrations, remuneration for election commission members, and security measures by the Ministry of Interior.

A significant portion of the budget, roughly 10 million euros, is allocated for the repair, maintenance, and transport of voting machines. Stoyanka Balova, spokesperson for the Central Election Commission (CEC), noted that since the machines' warranties expired in 2024 and they have not undergone full repairs previously, comprehensive maintenance is required. This tender also includes the installation of voting software and demo versions for training.

The high cost is attributed to the potential for a two-round election process, which increases personnel requirements, and the necessity of ensuring technical reliability for approximately 9,400 machines. The CEC is also planning for increased voting capacity abroad and is preparing procedures for handling technical issues during the voting process.