News

25 February 2026

Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva sent a letter to Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov and to the Chair of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Kamelia Neykova regarding the preparation and conduct of the early parliamentary elections on 19 April.

In it, the Ombudsman raises the issue of ensuring real and equal access to the electoral process for citizens in vulnerable situations, in particular people with disabilities, emphasising that, at present, not all the necessary conditions have been created for the full exercise of electoral rights in accordance with international standards for universal, equal, and secret voting.

 “Every citizen must be given the opportunity to cast their vote on election day and exercise their constitutional right. Moreover, according to the Electoral Code, voting is mandatory and represents the fulfillment of the voter’s civic duty,” Delcheva is adamant.

Among the problems identified are the lack of sign language interpretation for people with hearing impairments when difficulties arise with machine voting devices; the absence of a light signal when printing the control receipt, which creates a risk of their votes not being counted; the lack of official information in Braille and appropriate audio formats at polling stations, as well as the incomplete guarantee of voting secrecy for blind citizens due to the lack of adapted software on voting machines.

In this regard, the Ombudsman proposes that the CEC develop a standard for “accessible polling stations” and that specific actions be taken, including provisions in the Methodological Guidelines for the preparation of polling stations and buildings with the installation of audio players and Braille templates with a list of candidates and parties in designated sections for voters with visual impairments or mobility difficulties.

She also recommends providing online access to sign language interpreters on election day if necessary, setting up an organisation to inform people with hearing and visual impairments about the light and sound signals indicating successful voting, and introducing a free telephone line with information about the voting process.

Last but not least, the Ombudsman draws attention to the need for mechanisms to enable citizens who are subject to mandatory quarantine or isolation to exercise their voting rights.

In her recommendation, Velislava Delcheva also recalls the opinions of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 21 September 2018, according to which Bulgaria should ensure the accessibility of polling stations and information related to the voting process, including by providing materials in clear formats, such as Easy Read, and by providing the necessary financial and technical resources to improve physical accessibility.