Day of reflection: 6.59 million Bulgarians elect their head of state on Sunday
The campaign is over and campaigning is banned until the end of election day. Twenty-seven tickets are running – and the clocks go back to winter time on election night.
Symbolic image · Photo: OSCE Parliamentary Assembly / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Bulgaria is observing the legally mandated "day of reflection" on Saturday ahead of the presidential election. The campaign ended at midnight; campaigning and the publication of results are banned until the end of election day on Sunday, BNT and Fakti reported. The ballot lists 27 tickets of candidates for president and vice president. After one registration was struck off and replaced in time, the number remains unchanged, according to the Central Election Commission (CIK). Around 6.59 million citizens are eligible to vote.
Polling stations open at 7 a.m. on Sunday and close at 8 p.m.; if voters are still waiting, voting can continue until 9 p.m. Machine voting will be used in 9,373 polling stations in the country, more than 2,200 of which will have two devices. Abroad, 613 polling stations have been set up in 60 countries, using 266 machines. According to BNT, the polling station committees receive the machines, ballots and other materials on Saturday.
Election night brings a peculiarity: Bulgaria switches to winter time. At 4 a.m. on Oct. 25 the clocks go back one hour to 3 a.m., Blitz reported. If no ticket wins the required majority in the first round, a runoff will follow on Nov. 1. According to Blitz, the CIK is expected to announce the first-round results on Oct. 27. By order of the education minister there will be no lessons on Monday so that classrooms used as polling stations can be prepared; schools must, however, offer activities for pupils.