The Bulgarian cabinet is setting aside BGN 35 M for the October 23 local and presidential elections. The decision will be made Wednesday, during the regularly scheduled Council of Ministers meeting. In comparison, the cost of local elections in 2007 is estimated at BGN 18.5 M.
About a month ago, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, announced a different amount – BGN 26 M, with BGN 9 M lower than the one to be slated by the cabinet. The current estimates of the Finance Minister forecast the wages of the members of election committees as the biggest expense – BGN 18.5 M. Another BNG 1 M will be needed for the Central Election Commission, CEC.
Vote data processing and ballot printing will cost BGN 2 M while the logistics of the election process are estimated at BGN 7 M. The CEC information campaign about citizens’ rights and duties is going to need BGN 200 000.
Several Ministries are also receiving funding such as BGN 4 M to be given to the Interior Ministry to provide security; the Foreign Affairs Ministry is getting BGN 0.5 M to organize voting polls abroad; the Defense Ministry will have BGN 80 000 to organize the vote of military personnel abroad. The Ministry of Regional Development and the Ministry of Education are also receiving funding related to the logistics of the elections.