LAW ON ELECTING REPRESENTATIVES TO THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY OF BULGARIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700150264-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 13, 2011
• Sequence Number: 264
• Publication Date: December 3, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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LANGUAGE Bulgarian
DATE
PUBLISHED
CLASSIFICATION _- p
CENTRAL gsNTELLIGE GENCY
INFORMATION FROM
Political - Elections of representatives to
People's :.ssembly
Military
Semiweekly n
PUBLISHED
WHERE
COUNTRY
SUBJECT
HOW
E!V1F ;L ItiTEi'. -:X`E ACEhCY
CLASSITI'XI98
Carcti!d
(hiDfi1 19---=5
E'i AL: a .: Y
DATE
INFORMq]' 1953
ATE DIS;,, . Dec 1953
0. OF PAGES`,
I
SUPPLEMEt TO
-- dEPORT NC1
LAW ON ELECTING REPRESENTATIVES
TO THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY OF BULGARIA
Election System
In accordance with Article 2 of the Bulgarian Constitution, representa-
tives to the People's Assembly are elected by universal, equal, and direct
secret ballot.
Al'_ citizens over 18 years of age, regardless of race, sex, religious
faith, education, residence, social origin, or property holdings, except con-
victs, have the right to elect representatives.
Any Bulgarian citizen over 18 years of age regardless of race, sex, reli-
gious faith, education, residence, social origin, or property holdings may be
elected.
Citizens serving in the armed forces can vote and can be elected on the
same basis as other citizens.
Elections are held directly by citizens by secret ballot.
Elections for representatives are held in election rayons (districts).
People's representatives who do not justify the faith of those who elected
them, who radically change the platform on which they were nominated, or who
violate the basic tenets of discipline of their party or organization, can be
recalled upon the petition of that party or organization.
NSRB
FBI
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
STAT
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The decision to recall a representative is made by a majority (more than
half) of the members of the People's Assembly.
The expenditures connected with conducting the elections are paid by the
state.
All citizens, including those who will reach 18 years of age on election
day, who have franchise and who live (either permanently or temporarily) in the
territory of,a given people's soviet at the time its election list is drawn up
are entered on the list.
Each voter may be entered on only one election list.
Persons who are convicts or who are disenfranchised because of prison
sentences cannot be entered on voting lists during their term of confinement.
Voting lists are composed by the executive committees of the urban and
rural people's soviets. In towns divided into rayons, the lists are composed
b
y rayon people's soviets:
Voting lists for military units are drawn up by the commanding officer
All civilian employees of these units are entered on voting lists in their
places of residence by their respective people's soviets. If the military
d
are
rawn up at their temporary place of residence.
chiefs.. All other / iviliann7 employees attached to these units are entered
order, as-established by the Presidium of the People's Assembly,
ing information must be-given: first name, patronymic,-last name
committee of the people's soviet.
Thirty days before election day, the executive committees
mittees of the people's soviet, the, military unit, or the
Either written or oral'reports concerning errors in.
be submitted to.-the people's soviet.'
If-:the writer of these reports does not agree with
people's soviet, he can appeal to the people's court,
Election Districts
There are one representative and one election
inhabitants'.
mated by the Presidium of the People's Assembly,
not later than 2 months before-election day.
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STAT
Election Sections
Llection sections to accept ballots and count votes are formed by execu-
tive committees of people's soviets not later than 45 days before. election day.
Each populated place of up to 1,000 inhabitants forms one election sec-
tion. A populated place with over 1,000 inhabitants forms as many election
sections as the figure 1,000 can be divided into the number of inhabitants.
When the inhabitants have been divided into election sections and there is a
remainder of Ore than 500 inhabitants, a separate election section is formed.
If the remainder of the inhabitants is less than 500, they are distributed
among.the existing sections. At the discretion of executive committees of
okoliya, urban, and rayon'people's soviets, sections with leas than 500 and
more than 1;500 inhabitants may be formed.
Military units and Labo24ervice units of not less than 50 or more than
1,000 troops form separate election sections within the election districts
where the units are stationed.
Hospitals, maternity homes, and sanatoriums having not less than 25 per-
sons form a separate election section.
Steamships afloat;onJelection day which include at least 25 persons may
form separate election sections under the election district of the port in
which the steamship is registered.
Election Commissions
The central election. commission is formed by representatives of BKP (Bul-
garian.Communist Party) organizations; BZNS (Bulgarian Agricultural People's
Union) societies; Fatherland Front organizations; trade unions; cooperative
organizations; youth organizations; cultural, technical, and scientific soci-
eties; enterprises; military units; TKZS (cooperative labor farms) and private
farms; and DZS (state farms).
The central election commission is composed of a chairman, a deputy chair-
man, a secretary, and 20 members, and is approved by the Presidium of the Peo-
ple's Assembly. The commission sees that the law is carried out; looks into
complaints of irregularities and makes decisions on them; sets up the form and
color of the ballot and the protocol of the rayon election commissions for
registering candidates for people's representatives; establishes the worthiness
of an elected people's representative; registers elected people's representa-
tives; and gives election papers to the mandate commission.
District election commissions are composed of a chairman, a deputy.-chair-
man, a secretary, and eight members, and are approved by the Presidium of the
People's Assembly at least 50 days before elections. Their functions are sim-
ilar to=those of the central election commission, but on a smaller scale.
Section election commissions which are formed in all election sections are
composed-of a chairman, a deputy chairman, a secretary,.and from 4 to 8 members.
The sessions of the central election commission and of the district and
section,election commissions are legal if half of the membership is present.
Decisions are made with a majority. If there is a tie, the chairman's vote is
the deciding one..
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Nomination of Candidates
BKP, BZNS, Fatherland Front, trade union, cooperative, youth, and cultural
organizations can nominate candidates for people's representatives. These can-
didates may be sleeted in only one election district. Members of district or
section election commissions may not be candidates in the districts in which
they are members of a commission.
Candidates who are fascists or have other antipeuple's beliefs cannot be
nominated. If a party or a general political organisation has nominated a
Fatherland Front candidate for people's representative, it cannot nominate
other candidates.
Party and Fatherland Front organizations may not nominate more than one
candidate in the same election district.
Organizations nominating candidates must regi.cter them at least 30 days
before election day with the district election commission. When registering
their candidates, they must give a protocol of the neeting at which the candi-
date was nominated, signed by the members of the bureau with their residences;
and including the name of the organization; the ^lsce, time, and number of par-
ticipants in the meeting; the first name, utronymic, and last name of the can-
didate; and his age, address, party affiliation, and occupation. A statement
by the candidate that he agrees to his nomination in a given district under the
auspices of the nominating organization must also be presented.
Candidates nominated by general organizations are registered by the dis-
trict election commission.
A refusal by the district election commission to register a candidate may
be appealed within 2 days before the Central Zlection Commission, whose deci-
sion is final.
Inforration consisting of the first name, patronymic, last name, age,
occupation, and party affiliation or each registered candidate and the title
of the organization nominating his is giver to the district election commis-
sion not later than 25 days before election day.
Each organization, nominee, and citi:,on may cuepaign, but cam signing is
not allowed during voting hours.
Order of Voting
Elections for the PeorLi's ,1 :s-mbly are held on one day throughout the
country; the day, which is a nonwerkday, is set by tha ;residium of the people's
Assembly at least. 2 months in au?r.:nce. The da; and th?_ voting place must be
widely aiiv;rtised in the press ov other media for the 20 days prior to election
day. Voting begins at 07CO hour.; and lasts until l:Co hours; if there are peo-
ple still waiting to vote, however, ^oting n'!ll i>c ratcn'.led to 1900 hours.
At 0700 hours on election day, the ?r_i,.n;,;; of thr: section clcct~on com-
mission, in the presence of its msisbers, ::rust e.. .' n. the ballot boxes and the
election list; the ballot boxes are then, cloc'a end sccled with the local peo-
ple's soviet seal a,:?J the voters a_e allowed 'o nroce,,d with voting.
Any voter who ,annot :111 out the ballot, richer bccae;ae he is illiterate
or because he has r :hysical handicap, may mend c.noi:uer voter to fill out his
ballot.
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If a voter is not known to the secretary or officer of the section elec-
tion commission, he must show a personal passport or temporary identity card,
work papers, a trade union membership card, or other identification paper
before receiving a ballot.
Voters must leave on their ballots only the name of their candidate,
striking out the names of the other candidates, and must place the ballot in
the ballot box.
On election day at 1800 hours (or 1900 hours), the chairman of the sec-
tion'election commission stops the balloting and the election boxes: are opened.
Election Results
A ballot which contains more than one candidate's name is invalid.
The section election commission submits a protocol indicating, the time bal-
loting began and ended, the total number of voters according to the election
list, the number of voters receiving ballots, the number of voters taking part
in the voting, the number of ballots judged invalid, the number of ballots
having all the names crossed out, the number of votes given each candidate,
and a summary of reports and complaints given to the section election commis-
sion and its decisions on them.
After counting the votes and signing the protocol, the. chairman of the
section election commission announces the results. A copy of the protocol
must be dispatched immediately by courier to the district election commission.
All ballots (with valid and invalid ballots separated), together with the
copies of-the-voting protocol and other election papers, must be submitted by
the chairman' 6f the section election commission, for safekeeping, as follows:
in cities,:-to the executive committees of urban people's soviets (in cities
with rayons, to the executive committees of rayon people's Soviets); and in
villages, to'executive committees of okoliya people's soviets.
The'district election commissions count the votes and establish the elec-
tion results for the district on the basis of the protocols presented by the
section election commissions. The district election commission composes a
protocol in two copies containing the following information:. the number of
section election commissions in the district, the number of section election
commissions presenting protocols, the total number of voters in the district,
the number of voters receiving ballots, the number of voters taking part in
the voting, the number of ballots judged invalid, the number of ballots in
which all names were crossed out, the number of votes given each candidate,
and a Short 'summary of reports and complaints to the district. election commis-
sion and its decisions on them.
A candidate'for people's representative who receives more than half of all
the valid votes in the district is proclaimed elected, and the chairman of the dis-
trict election commission issues to the elected candidate a certificate stating
that he has been elected a people's representative.
After signing the protocol, the chairman of the district election commis-
sion must immediately send one copy, with the seal, by courier to the central
election commission. The second copy of the protocol, the protocols of the
section election'commissions, and the election papers of the district election
commission are given by the chairman of the district election commission to the
executive committee of the respectiv_ okrug people's soviet for safekeeping.
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PMENWAMAIr
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dis-
trict election commission notes this in thepro" tocol,lreportsctosthencentral
election commission, and within 2 weeks announces a date for a second elec-
tion in the election district.
If the number of votr; in the district is less than half of the num-
ber of eligible voters, the district election commission notes this in the
protocol and reports it to the central election commission. In such a case,
the central election commission sets a date for a new election not later than
2 weeks after the first election.
The second election is conducted according to the election lists estab-
lished for the first election.
In case a people's representative to the People's Assembly withdraws, the
Presidium of the People's Assembly sets the date for electing a new people's
representative in that election district 2 weeks after his withdrawal.
Violating Voting Rights
For violating voting rights, the violators are punished according to
Article No 100-102 of the Criminal Code.
This law replaces the Law on Electing People's Representatives published
in Durzhaven Vestnik, No 175, 1 August 1949. Fulfillment of this ukase is-the
responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.
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