25% of Bulgarian Voters Cast Preferential Ballot in the EU Elections

Every fourth voter in the European elections in Bulgaria used their right of preferential vote, shows data of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). 

This was the first time the Bulgarians voters had the actual right to select a candidate who is further down on the party or coalition ballot list.  

“Around 580 000 people, out of the 2 239 000 who voted, used a preferential vote,” said the CEC spokesperson Alexander Andreev, quoted by the bTV national channel. “There is a great likelihood that the first candidates on the lists of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the Reformist Block will be displaced by other candidates further down the list.”

Preliminary data shows that 57% of the supporters of the Reformist Block chose the second candidate, Svetoslav Malinov, and he will replace the leader of the list Meglena Kuneva for the only European Parliament seat the coalition won. 

According to reports in the Bulgarian-language media, a vast number of BSP voters got confused and not only crossed out the number 15 for the party, but also crossed out the number 15 in the preferential list. This would most likely mean that the 27-year-old Momchil Nekov would displace from the top spot the BSP leader Sergei Stanishev. Stanishev had already said he would not take his seat as an MEP.