Bulgaria: Three polling stations switch to paper ballots as candidates cast votes
All polling stations opened, but machine failures in Yambol, Haskovo and Ruse forced a switch to paper. Gyurov voted in Blagoevgrad, Kostadinov in Varna. Trend put turnout at 4.4% by 10 a.m.
Archive image · Photo: Georgi Nikolchev, Bulgaria / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
All polling stations across Bulgaria opened for Sunday's presidential election, Central Election Commission spokeswoman Stoyanka Balova told a morning briefing. Three stations, in Yambol, Haskovo and Ruse, switched to paper ballots because of voting machine problems. The commission had received no complaints from inside the country or abroad, she said.
Several candidates have cast their ballots. Andrey Gyurov voted at around 10 a.m. at a high school in Blagoevgrad, saying it was "always a good sign" when citizens took their fate into their own hands and went out to vote. Kostadin Kostadinov of Vazrazhdane voted in Varna, while Ivelin Mihaylov voted in the village of Neofit Rilski near Varna and urged people not to be swayed by opinion polls.
Turnout stood at 4.4% by 10 a.m. local time, according to the polling agency Trend. Official figures are released by the election commission. Polls close at 8 p.m. local time, or no later than 9 p.m. if voters are still queuing.