The mayor of the Sliven village of Gradec, Veselin Urumov, will request an explanatory campaign about machine voting before the second round. The reason is the difficulties of some voters in working with the devices and the record low turnout in the settlement.
Out of nearly 4,800 people on the voter list, 420 voted. According to data cited by bTV, this is the lowest voter turnout in the history of Gradec. According to the results presented in the material, Iliyana Yotova and Kiril Valchev received the most support in the village.
Tense situations were also registered in front of the machines on election day. One of the voters stated that he had difficulty reading the names and instructions because he was illiterate. Another managed to vote after initial difficulties. This has also led to scandals with the members of the section committee.
According to him, in previous elections, residents preferred the paper ballot. Among the reasons for the low turnout, local people also point to their daily commitments. A resident of the village commented that some of the people were probably at work or went mushroom picking.
Not all voters encountered problems. Mariyka from Gradec said that she found the machine easy to use. 63-year-old Nikolay Shilev also stated that he did not find it difficult and that he had voted many times.
In Gradec, the absence of detainees or vote-buying protocols was also reported, which bTV describes as unusual for the village before elections. Before the runoff, the mayor intends to insist on clarifications aimed at voters who are experiencing difficulties with the machine vote.