The Bulgarian Parliament is expected to discuss Friday the proposed amendments in the country’s Election Code after the Constitutional Court revoked some of the texts in it.
A much discussed texts among the revoked amendments is the permanent residency requirement for local elections, which provided that only Bulgarian citizens, who had lived in the respective city or town for the last 12 months, can vote for mayors and members of municipal councils. It was introduced by the ruling centrist-right GERB in an attempt to counter tampering with election results by transporting voters from one location to another – the so-called “election tourism.”
The claim against the text was submitted by the two major opposition forces – the Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS. The Constitutional Court based their rule on the grounds international practice provides for 6 months of residency, not 12.
However, for the upcoming presidential and local elections in Bulgaria in the fall of 2011 there will be a 10-month permanent residency requirement for voters because this text had not been challenged in court by the opposition. The Election Code was passed by the Parliament at the end of last year, when it was too late to have the 12-month requirement included for the 2011 elections.
Full Article: Bulgaria: Bulgarian Parliament to Discuss Election Code Amendments – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency.