Bulgaria votes: polls open, first voting machine glitch fixed in Sofia
Voting in Bulgaria's presidential election began at 7 a.m. local time at 12,070 polling stations. A machine in Sofia failed for half an hour, while turnout in Kardzhali was unusually thin early on.
Graphic: TERRA WORLD NEWS (own graphic based on the sources listed)
Polling stations across Bulgaria opened at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Sunday for the presidential election. There are 12,070 polling stations in the country and 613 abroad in 60 countries; about 6.6 million people are eligible to vote, including some 46,000 first-time voters. A total of 11,622 voting machines are in use.
The first technical problem came shortly after the start: at a polling station in a Sofia school, a machine failed to cut its paper receipts, and a line formed outside. The problem was fixed at about 7:35 a.m. after more than half an hour, public broadcaster BNT reported. In Kardzhali, voting began calmly with unusually few voters, broadcaster bTV said, with officials at one polling station suggesting fatigue from frequent elections as a possible reason.
Polls close at 8 p.m., or 9 p.m. at the latest if voters are still waiting. If no ticket wins more than half the vote, a runoff will be held on Nov. 1.