FRI-2B.313-1-L-05
ON THE VALUE OF VOTES NOT SUPPORTING ANYONE IN PROPORTIONAL ELECTIONS IN BULGARIA
Abstract
The paper treats an actual issue in Bulgarian proportional elections in the last years - the equality of voting rights in the context of the large amount of ballot papers in which the field “I do not support anyone” is marked. The Constitutional court has been addressed in July 2024 with a claim to pronounce on the constitutionality of a text of the Election code concerning the exclusion of the votes not supporting anyone from the formation of the municipal electoral quota in local elections. The author presents statistical data, analyzes the results of proportional elections in Bulgaria since 2017, as well as the legal regulation of the question (not only for munucipal, but also for parliamentary and European elections) and suggests legislative amendments.
Keywords
Elections, votes “I do not support anyone”, voting rights