Bulgarians Protest Reinstatement of Paper Election Ballots

Photo: Unsplash

The Facts

  • On Thursday, hundreds of protesters hit the streets of Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, following Parliament's vote to bring back paper ballots at polling stations.

  • Led by the Democratic Bulgaria alliance and the We Continue the Change (WCC) party, protesting Bulgarians demanded the rollback of the Election Code amendments approved last week – which they claim will result in the theft of future elections.


The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

By bringing back paper ballots, the GERB-led Paper Coalition — which includes the Movement for Rights and Freedoms alliance and the Bulgarian Socialist Party — is preparing for a trilateral ruling majority. History has shown that elections are rigged with paper, and there's no doubt the coalition is rushing to re-introduce such ballots so that GERB can maintain its monopoly in local governments.

Pro-establishment narrative

The opposition’s demand to restrict voting entirely to machines is fundamentally flawed as it infringes on the freedom of choice. Allowing voters to decide between a voting machine or a paper ballot ensures a cleaner, more transparent, and fair electoral process, while unjustified speculation of fraud achieves the exact opposite.


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO

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