Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Voting machine scandal as election campaign draws to a close

E-Government Minister Alexander Yolovskiл
Photo: BGNES

Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel and representatives of the Central Electoral Commission will be heard at an emergency meeting of Parliament's presiding body, (including the Parliament Chair and his deputies, and the floor leaders of the parties). 

The State Agency for National Security has reported that a deputy minister for e-government videotaped the process of generating the codes for the voting machines. 

Desislava Atanasova, leader of the GERB-SDS parliamentary group, said. "I hope that We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria will distance itself from this person," Atanasova added.

Toshko Yordanov, leader of the "There Is Such a People" parliamentary group, said that the voting machines had been compromised in this way and described it as a "coup d'état". 

"The machines have obviously been compromised by this report," Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of Vazrazhdane, told journalists in parliament, calling for the government's resignation. 

Delyan Peevski, co-leader of the MRF parliamentary group, said that the machines should not be used on Sunday so as not to disrupt the local vote, and called for the deputy minister to be sacked.

At a special press conference, E-Government Minister Alexander Yolovski said that the source code of the machines had not been compromised.

"The key used to digitally sign the software on the machines is held by three members of the Central Election Commission, each of whom has a third of the password. Each of them enters their own code, which only they know, and this is one third of the whole password," CEC spokesperson Rositsa Mateva told reporters at a briefing.


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

It will be a sunny weekend with scattered clouds and a chance of light rain

Early on Saturday, temperatures will range from 11 to 20°C , with a minimum of 11°C in Sofia. There will be low cloud cover and reduced visibility in the lowlands and river valleys in the morning.  The day will be mostly sunny with scattered clouds...

published on 9/12/25 7:05 PM

Sofia City Court rules to keep Varna mayor Blagomir Kotsev in detention

The Sofia City Court rejected Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev's request to amend his preventive measure of "detention in custody" and remanded him in custody, BTA reported. The ruling is not final and is subject to appeal. Sofia City Court receives..

published on 9/12/25 6:16 PM

Drone has been found on the North Beach in Bulgaria's Burgas

A drone surfaced today on the North Beach in Burgas, a Bulgarian National Radio team reported. According to senior rescuer Petar Rusev, the machine was spotted in an unguarded area of ​​the beach in the direction of Solnitsei. The signal for a..

published on 9/12/25 6:10 PM