Bulgaria's Constitutional Court orders parliamentary vote recount

SOFIA - Bulgaria's Constitutional Court on Wednesday ordered the Central Election Commission (CEC) to recount the votes from the last parliamentary elections held on Oct 27, 2024.

The decision follows an investigation into alleged election irregularities, launched by the court in early November last year.

An expert review of ballots from 1,768 of the country's 12,920 polling stations revealed discrepancies in 46.75 percent of the cases, where changes were found in the number of votes allocated to candidate lists, as well as other inconsistencies, the court said.

Due to these and other violations, the court instructed the CEC to determine the total number of votes, reassess which parties and coalitions surpass the 4 percent threshold for parliamentary entry, and verify the distribution of seats. The court also mandated a review of whether the recount would alter the composition of the parliament.

According to the final results published by the CEC on Oct 30, 2024, eight parties and coalitions entered parliament. The Greatness party narrowly missed the 4 percent threshold by just 21 votes.

On Jan 16, the parliament approved a coalition government led by GERB-UDF's nominee Rosen Zhelyazkov, who secured the backing of 125 legislators in the 240-member assembly.