Draft Amendments Could Limit Right of Bulgarians Living Abroad to Vote

Bulgaria's Justice Ministry has made public draft legislative amendments that could effectively limit the right of Bulgarians living abroad to vote, by introducing a domicile requirement for voting in parliamentary and presidential elections.

The draft amendments would see the Electoral Code amended so that Bulgarians would be able to vote not only if they meet the requirements of article 42 of the constitution, but also that they have lived on the territory of Bulgaria for the three months preceding a parliamentary or presidential election.

The posting online of the proposed amendments comes after the campaign ahead of Bulgaria's March 2017 parliamentary elections was dominated by controversy about the influence of Bulgarian passport-holders resident in Turkey and the protests against the so-called ''Election Tourism''.