“Your Vote, Your Choice” – CEC Unveils Slogan for Bulgaria’s Presidential Election – Novinite.com

“Your vote, your choice” will be the slogan of Bulgaria’s upcoming presidential and vice-presidential election campaign, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced as preparations continue for the October 25, 2026 vote.

CEC spokesperson Stoyanka Balova-Tsvetkova said the commission’s preparations are proceeding according to the election timetable. The CEC’s information campaign will focus on short and clear messages designed to inform voters about important deadlines, voting procedures and their rights.

The commission will produce videos and brief informational materials explaining the right to vote, voting at a current address, options available to voters with disabilities and the vote-counting process. Information will also be distributed through Facebook and Instagram, as well as through a dedicated “Questions and Answers” section on the CEC website and its mobile application.

“We will try to ensure that citizens are informed promptly and on time,” Balova-Tsvetkova said.

The CEC has already registered five political parties and one initiative committee for participation in the presidential elections. The registered parties are Revival, the Right Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), Bulgarian Social Democracy, Euroleft and the People’s Party Truth and Only Truth.

An initiative committee has also been registered to nominate independent candidates Lachezar Avramov for president and Ivaylo Drazhev for vice president.

The commission has received registration documents from seven additional parties and five more initiative committees. Their applications are still being reviewed by the CEC.

The deadline for parties and coalitions to register for the election expires on September 9 at 5 p.m., while initiative committees have until September 14 to register. Candidate pairs for president and vice president must be registered by September 22.

The election campaign itself will begin at midnight on September 25 and end at midnight on October 23. The CEC reminded political participants that campaigning must be conducted in Bulgarian and that campaign materials containing content harmful to the good morals or reputation of candidates are prohibited.

Campaign materials may not contain the Bulgarian coat of arms or flag, those of another country, religious symbols or images. The use of state or municipal transport for campaigning is also prohibited. Campaigning will not be permitted on the day of reflection or on election day.

The CEC has also accepted a list submitted by the Foreign Ministry identifying Bulgarian diplomatic and consular missions abroad where polling stations will be opened by law. The list covers 100 embassies, consulates general and consulates.

Some diplomatic missions have been excluded from the list because voting there is not recommended due to military operations, elevated security risks or the inability to organize the vote.

“Ukraine, Syria, there are quite a few countries where, due to military operations, the opening of polling stations is not recommended,” Balova-Tsvetkova said.

She added that the CEC had “fully complied with the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” regarding locations where polling will not be organized.

Outside Bulgarian diplomatic missions, the CEC has designated 262 locations in European Union countries where so-called service polling stations can be opened. These stations can operate in places where at least 100 Bulgarian voters have cast ballots during elections over the past five years.

Germany has the largest number of designated locations, with 75, followed by Spain with 56. Italy and the Netherlands each have 22, Greece has 18, while Belgium and France have 13 each.

Bulgarian citizens living abroad can submit electronic applications to vote through the CEC website from the afternoon of September 8. The deadline for submitting applications is September 29.

The commission has also moved forward with preparations for machine voting. Up to 12,800 voting machines are expected to undergo repairs, while 200 devices have already been prepared for demonstrations of machine voting. The CEC expects its information campaign at the local level to begin toward the end of September.

Balova-Tsvetkova said the overall preparations remain on schedule. Last week, the CEC appointed all regional election commissions across the country, and they have been operating since September 5.

The commission has also adopted the rules governing the registration of presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The decision establishes the procedures for nominating candidates, preparing candidate lists, submitting registration documents and meeting registration deadlines, as well as the relevant registers and certificates.

With the campaign period approaching, the CEC says the technical and organizational preparations are progressing in line with the official election timetable for the October 25 presidential and vice-presidential vote.