Elections

Bulgarian voters have backed the introduction of a first-past-the-post system, compulsory voting, and a drastic slash in state subsidies handed to political parties, exit poll data shows.

A referendum on three issues is being held on Sunday alongside the presidential election.

Polling stations across Bulgaria will not close at 20:00 but at 21:00 as voting for president still goes on, authorities say.

People are still lining up to cast ballots, under a newly adopted regime of compulsory voting.

The election day will thus continue after first exit polls are announced, giving last-minute voters crucial importance in case of a narrow lead.

Voter turnout was higher at 17:00 local time (EET) in Sunday's presidential election in Bulgaria compared to the 2011 voter for head of state, authorities say.

The activity was 44.83% at the time, up from the 38.76% in 2011, Central Election Commission (CEC) data shows.

People have been lining up to vote in many polling stations abroad, Bulgaria's electoral authorities report as the country is choosing its next President.

In addition, a claim of ballot shortage has been filed with the election watchdog, Focus News Agency has quoted the Central Election Commission (CEC)'s spokesperson Tsvetozar Tomov as saying.

Nearly a third of Bulgarian voters had cast a ballot in Sunday's presidential elections as of 13:00 local time (EET), authorities say.

Activity was 26.2% as of that hour, much above the rate registered in 2011 when it was 17.64%, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) data.

At 10:00 the turnout was slightly above 10.3%.

Bulgaria will hold on Sunday a national referendum on the voting system, election rules, and state subsidies handed out to political parties.

The national poll will coincide with the presidential elections, whose first and second round are scheduled for November 06 and November 13, respectively.

Here is all you need to know in brief.

With a decision taken on October 28, the Central Election Commission will open 18 new voting sections for Bulgarian citizens in the UK.

Thus, the number of voting sections in Britain will be over 50.

Two weeks before the end of the pre-election campaign, every second person interviewed (51%) has stated that they are not familiar with a single campaign act of the candidates for head of state, showed a nationally representative survey of Alfa Research.

GENEVA - Serbia remains committed to the high standards of representative democracy, rule of law, human rights and gender equality, as well as peace, security and peaceful coexistence with Balkan and European neighbors, Serbian Parliament Speaker Maja Gojkovic, who heads the Serbian delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), said Monday.

Bulgarian lawmakers have voted to to partly revoke a limit imposed earlier this year on the number of polling stations allowed in EU countries, just 10 days out of the November 06 presidential elections.

Eighty-one MPs have voted to back the amendments, with 21 against and nine abstentions.