Preferential voting

The Parliament has restored the previous barrier in preferential voting, Focus News Agency reports. The threshold in preferential voting in local and general elections will be 7%, and that in European elections - 5%. Thus, the MPs revoked the higher thresholds adopted through amendments to the Electoral Code on February 14, 2019 that caused public discontent.

Some 46.9 percent of the Bulgarian voters used the preference tool while casting a ballot, Gallup agency has announced.

The October 5 early elections saw the first use of preferential voting in a national poll.

Official results from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) are expected later next week.

Bulgaria's Interior Ministry is investigating new vote-buying schemes, caretaker Interior Minister Yordan Bakalov told the Darik national radio. 

The newest scheme was a "casting" for a reality show at which the candidates are told to vote for a certain party or coalition and are being paid. 

Momchil Nekov, the No. 15 candidate in the list of the Bulgarian Socialist Party for the European elections, will take his seat in the European Parliament, reports Focus agency. 

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.  

Svetoslav Malinov, the Reformist Bloc's "number two" in the coalition's European elections list, is to become MEP instead of top candidate Meglena Kuneva.

Malinov has "ousted" former EU Commissioner Kuneva as preferred MEP candidate by the Reformist Bloc's voters, according to reports by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC).