Central Election Commission announced end of polling day in the two-in-one elections

Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission (CEC) announced the end of Election Day in the territory of Bulgaria at 9 p.m. local time on Sunday, June 9, 2024.

CEC said that the voting in the early general elections for national parliament and the regular European Parliament elections proceeded normally , despite problems with voting machines. A large part of the complaints and signals - 72 in total - were related to machine voting.

Voting on 145 machines was suspended on election day and in the polling stations with non-functioning machines the voting was switched to paper ballots. Machines were printing out incomplete or blank slips and those who failed to cast their vote on a machine had to vote by paper. It also turned out that polling stations commissions en masse did not stamp the machine slips. CEC decided that they will be considered as valid after all.

Voter turnout was higher for the European Parliament elections than for the national Parliament. Voter turnout for the EP elections was 20.89% as at 4 pm - the latest data so far from the CEC shows. The lowest turnout was in Sliven - 14.86% and the highest in Kardzhali - 28.58%.

20.44% of eligible voters had voted for the National Assembly as at 4 pm. Or by 7% almost less than last year's parliamentary elections. The lowest turnout was in Sliven - 15.14% and the highest in Smolyan - 27.09%.

The polling stations that were the first to fill in their protocols are now handing in their papers.

The Central Electoral Commission has until June 12 to announce the results of the European Parliament elections and until June 13 to announce the results of the elections for the national Parliament.