Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Voting in the local elections will use old voting machines

Kamelia Neikova
Photo: BGNES

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has repeatedly proposed to develop new software for the machine voting so that there is no foreign involvement, but has not received a response from any institution. This was announced by CEC chairperson Kamelia Neikova during a parliamentary hearing on the reliability of machine voting. She explained that with the voting software acquired through a contract in 2021, not a single technical decision can be taken without the participation of its creator, Smartmatic International Holding.


The Chairperson of the CEC also said that in the local elections on October 29 this year there will be no new machines and voting will be done with the already purchased nearly 13,000 devices. According to her, they are stored in a private warehouse, because the Council of Ministers did not secure a state one, as required by the Electoral Code.

For the security of machine voting, a number of checks and tests are carried out, in addition, the Ministry of the Interior and the National Security Agency check all people with access to the warehouse where the machines are stored, and will work on their preparation and delivery to the election commission, Kamelia Neikova added.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Yellow code for strong wind in 16 eastern and southwestern regions

On Wednesday , the lowest temperatures will be between 3 and 8°C. In the regions with strong wind it will be up to 10-12°C. In Sofia it will be around 4°C. In the western parts of the Danube Plain and the Upper Thracian Plain it will..

published on 11/25/25 7:50 PM

Drones to aid disaster and fire response in Burgas

Following a series of fires in the Burgas area last summer, including one that destroyed homes in a local villa district, the Burgas municipality has acquired high-tech drones equipped with thermal cameras, night vision, and 3D imaging . The two..

published on 11/25/25 7:01 PM

Bulgarian police break up migrant smuggling network

Illegal migrants from Syria, Iraq and Iran have been discovered in Sofia, and ten members of an organised criminal group have been arrested , Deputy City Prosecutor Desislava Petrova told reporters. Two of those arrested have been charged as the..

published on 11/25/25 6:48 PM