Bulgarian President Calls for Massive Turnout in Sunday’s Vote

Bulgaria’s President Rosen Plevneliev urged all voters on Friday to cast ballots in a national referendum on whether to introduce remote electronic voting that will be held alongside local elections on October 25.

“I support direct democracy. It gives us additional opportunities which have been untapped so far and will surely enrich the model of democracy in the country,” Plevneliev said in a televised  address to the nation.

If the backers of the idea to introduce electronic voting prevail in the referendum, Bulgarian voters will have a choice in future elections whether to go to the ballot box in a polling station or stay at home and vote on their computers or mobile devices.

Electronic voting is expected to decrease the impact of vote-buying on election results – a practice that has persisted throughout Bulgaria’s transition to democracy since the fall of Communism in 1989. Remote electronic voting is also expected to decrease the distorting influence of the so-called ‘controlled vote’, in which people in regions with high unemployment levels are voting on orders by employers out of fear of losing their jobs   

“Let's open the way to direct democracy and referendums in Bulgaria by voting en masse on Sunday,” Plevneliev said. “Let each of us vote "for" or "against" the introduction of electronic voting.”