Bulgaria by-elections: low morning turnout, voting machine glitch in Maslarevo

Turnout in Sunday's mayoral by-elections in 14 Bulgarian localities varied sharply by late morning. In the village of Malo Konare near Pazardzhik, only 108 of 3,109 eligible voters, or 3.47%, had cast ballots by 11 a.m., the local election commission said. In Yavorovo near Stara Zagora, turnout stood at nearly 27% at the same time, though only 292 people are eligible to vote there.

In Polski Trambesh municipality, which is electing a new mayor, turnout was 4.48% at 11 a.m., and 22.66% in the village of Maslarevo. There, a voting machine initially failed to print a control receipt, causing a brief dispute; it worked normally from the second voter on. The election commission said the first vote remains valid because it was stored in the machine's memory. No violations had been reported in the municipality so far.

The vote in the village of Malorad in the Vratsa region was called after the former mayor lost his post following a final conviction for driving under the influence of drugs. Five candidates are running, and two polling stations with more than 300 voters each are using machines only. A possible runoff would be held on Oct. 25, alongside the presidential election.