04.08.2022
The decision assigns to the Deputy Prime Minister for Public Order and Security and Minister of Interior the management of the logistics to prepare the election process plus the arrangement, in agreement with the Central Electoral Commission, of the terms and conditions of the production, delivery and safekeeping of the election forms and materials and also of the safekeeping of the voting machines. The Minister of Interior is to organize the activities within the competence of the Ministry of Interior relevant to the preparation and holding of the elections.
The Minister of Finance is to submit to the Council of Ministers a draft rate schedule to apply to the parties, coalitions and nomination committees that have to pay for their canvassing as broadcast by the Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio and by their regional centers.
The cabinet decision makes it binding on the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works to coordinate all work of compiling and publishing the electoral rolls for voting and on the Minister of Foreign Affairs to organize the preparation and holding of the elections abroad.
The Minister of Justice is to organize the preparation and the holding of elections in the prisons. Also the Minister of Justice is to issue penalty decrees as per Art. 496, para 3, sentence two of the Election Code.
Whenever needed, the Minister of Health, subject to coordination with the Chief State Health Inspector, is to enforce short-term anti-epidemic measures as relevant to the election process.
Further, the cabinet decision makes it binding on the Deputy Prime Minister for Public Order and Security and Minister of Interior, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Justice to inform the Prime Minister about the course of the preparation of the elections until the declaration of the election results.
Also, the Government approved the cost estimate for preparing and holding the general election on 2 October 2022.
The total amount approved is BGN 70.5 million. The operations to be financed are as follows: the compilation and printing of the electoral rolls for voting; the purchase and the production of the required election forms and materials; the printing of the ballot papers; the logistic support for the regional and municipal government administrations and for the central government administration (the Council of Ministers); the wages of the members of the constituency election commissions and of the polling station commissions; the computer processing of the voting data and the publication of a newsletter to show the election results; a public awareness campaign about the rights and responsibilities of citizens and about how to vote.
The Government stands ready to provide the funding needed subject to a decision of the Central Electoral Commission to have video surveillance in the polling stations or to the conclusion of agreements on logistics and maintenance of specialized machine voting equipment and other consumables and accompanying operations to enable the machine voting.
This act of the Government implements Art. 18 of the Election Code. The resources required for the expenses as approved in the cost estimate will be provided against the restructuring of expenditure and/or 2022 central budget transfers.
