Vote counting

Following the announcement of the official election results in Bulgaria, it has become evident that 21 votes were missing for the "Greatness" party, preventing them from entering parliament. However, an investigation by the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) revealed that at least 28 votes originally meant for "Greatness" were reallocated to other parties.

A partial ballot recount in Georgia's contested parliamentary election confirmed the ruling party won, electoral officials said on Thursday, after opposition parties alleged violations and Washington and Brussels demanded an investigation.

US Federal authorities are investigating incidents of fires at two ballot drop boxes in the Portland area of Oregon, as well as a separate fire in the nearby Vancouver area of Washington, according to CNN reports. The Portland Police Bureau indicated that officers responded to a fire at a ballot box around 3:30 a.m. local time on Monday, where an "incendiary device" had been used.

78 are the polling stations in the country where machine voting has been suspended as of 3:00 PM, according to a decision made by the district electoral commissions, revealed during a meeting of the Central Election Commission (CEC).

A recent analysis by the Institute for the Development of the Public Environment (IRPS) highlights a significant decline in the use of machine voting during Bulgaria's parliamentary elections on June 9. This decline marks a stark contrast to previous elections, where voting technology was a focal point of political discourse and legislative adjustments.

During a session of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), it was decided that in the upcoming 2-in-1 elections on June 9, ballots will be distributed across four separate ballot boxes, a novelty in the electoral process in Bulgaria.

An amendment broadening the postal voting regulations has been proposed to Parliament as part of the Health Ministry's legislation and is scheduled for a plenary vote on Thursday. 

"Around 20% of the paper ballots cast in the first round of yesterday's local elections were counted as invalid - this is the result of the cancellation of machine voting".

Voter turnout for the whole country as of 11:00 am is at 12.3%, Central Election Commission Spokesperson Rositsa Mateva said at a briefing Saturday at 11:30 am. 

The lowest turnout is registered in Plovdiv - 7.25%, and the highest in Bolyarovo Municipality (Southeastern Bulgaria) - 33.94%.

There will be 760 sections abroad in 68 countries, said Ivan Kondov - head of a working group for voting abroad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BNR reported.

He described as the biggest difficulty the delivery of machines and ballots to all sections abroad in a possible second round of the presidential election.