Transparency International Bulgaria submitted a statement to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria in constitutional case no. 24/2024. The statement addresses the issue of the unconstitutionality of the provision in § 1, item 14 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Election Code, concerning the exclusion of “I do not support anyone” votes when determining electoral quotas. The Association emphasizes that the current regulation violates the principles of the rule of law and equality before the law by restricting citizens’ right to cast their vote.
The submitted document states that “I do not support anyone” votes must be given the same weight as votes for specific candidates in order to ensure equal treatment of all voters.
The introduction of mandatory voting in 2016 sparked numerous debates regarding its constitutionality and practical feasibility. The main reasons behind the proposal for mandatory voting were related to the desire to limit the negative impact of vote-buying practices on the electoral process. However, compulsory voting was ruled unconstitutional in 2017, but the option to vote “I do not support anyone” remained in the Election Code.
Transparency International Bulgaria argues that “I do not support anyone” votes have only a functional significance and do not constitute a choice of a specific political entity. Including these votes in the calculation of electoral quotas would lead to an artificial increase in the threshold for entry into representative institutions and would create conditions for discrepancies in the application of statistical and sociological methods for determining election results.
TI Bulgaria calls on the Constitutional Court to declare the provision unconstitutional and to protect citizens’ right to free and equal choice. The statement emphasizes that the current legal framework places citizens who have chosen “I do not support anyone” in the same legal position as those who did not vote, which violates the principles of equality and the rule of law.