A three-question referendum was held in Bulgaria on 6 November 2016 alongside presidential elections.[1] Voters were asked whether they supported limiting public funding of political parties to one lev per year per valid vote received at the previous elections, the introduction of compulsory voting in elections and referendums, and changing the electoral system for the National Assembly to the two-round system.[2] In order to be binding, the number of voters participating in the referendum must be equal to or higher than the number who voted in the 2014 parliamentary elections.[3]
 | ||
| ||
| Do you support MPs being elected by a majority electoral system with an absolute majority in two rounds? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Do you support the introduction of compulsory voting in elections and referendums? | ||
| Do you support the annual state subsidy granted to finance political parties and coalitions to be one lev for every vote received in the last parliamentary elections? | ||
Yes: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% | ||
All three proposals were supported by a majority of those voting, but the number of votes cast (3,488,484) was around 12,000 lower than in the 2014 parliamentary elections, meaning the quorum was not met. However, as over 20% of registered voters voted in favour, the proposals still had to be debated in the National Assembly.[4] The National Assembly subsequently rejected all three proposals.
Conduct
editSlavi Trifonov, the initiator of the referendum claimed that the number of people voting in the referendum was actually slightly higher than the number required to make it mandatory, that the Election Commission had closed polling stations while people were still waiting to vote and had removed video surveillance from polling stations to "sabotage the referendum".[5] Some sections could not serve all the voters in reasonable time and a number waited on the line and could not vote,[6][7][8] other sections closed earlier than the appointed time (20:00) and in some sections entire boxes with ballots were locked in the sections themselves to avoid their enumeration.[9][10][11][12] Trifonov claimed that more than 12,000 ballots were excluded from the count for not being in an envelope.[13]
Results
edit| Question | For | Against | None of the above | Invalid/ blank |
Total votes |
Registered voters |
Turnout | Outcome | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||||
| Two-round system for parliamentary elections | 2,509,864 | 73.80 | 560,024 | 16.47 | 330,928 | 9.73 | 87,668 | 3,488,484 | 6,865,086 | 50.81 | Quorum not met |
| Compulsory voting | 2,158,929 | 63.48 | 905,691 | 26.63 | 336,180 | 9.89 | 87,668 | 3,488,468 | Quorum not met | ||
| Political funding | 2,516,791 | 74.02 | 523,759 | 15.40 | 359,778 | 10.58 | 87,668 | 3,487,996 | Quorum not met | ||
| Source: CIK | |||||||||||
References
edit- ^ Bulgaria’s 2016 presidential elections: Voters to have ‘I don’t support anyone’ option Sofia Glove, 9 October 2016
- ^ Bulgarian TV Host Registers Committee for Referendum on Political System Novinite, 23 September 2016
- ^ Bulgaria's Referendum on Voting System Surprisingly May Pass Threshold Novinite, 7 November 2016
- ^ After a Day of Uncertainty, Bulgaria Voting System Referendum Falls Through Novinite, 8 November 2016
- ^ "Слави Трифонов: ЦИК извършва чудовищна манипулация с референдума". bTV Новините (in Bulgarian).
- ^ телевизия, Нова. "ХАОС В СЕКЦИИТЕ В ЕВРОПА: Българи зад граница не успяха да гласуват". nova.bg (in Bulgarian).
- ^ "Опашки и напрежение пред много от секциите в чужбина (галерия) - Mediapool.bg". Mediapool.bg.
- ^ "Десетки българи в Лондон не успяха да гласуват". News.bg (in Bulgarian). 7 November 2016.
- ^ "Бюлетини от референдума не са предадени в община Бяла". bTV Новините (in Bulgarian).
- ^ "Граждани алармират: Не се дават бюлетини за референдума". frognews.bg (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
- ^ "Чистачка в училище намери захвърлени валидни бюлетини за референдума - Плевен - dariknews.bg". dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian).
- ^ "Бюлетини за референдума "заключени" в секция в БялаTVN.BG". tvn.bg (in Bulgarian).
- ^ Team, Slavi's Show Web. "12 481 бюлетини за референдума са извадени от избирателната активност | Шоуто на Слави". www.slavishow.com.