Election Commission to return vote protocols to Constitutional Court
The Central Election Commission (CEC) will return the election protocols to the Constitutional Court today after completing a review of 2,204 polling stations, said CEC Chair Kamelia Neykova on bTV.The data, processed by Information Services, will be verified by the CEC before being submitted. Neykova stated that she could not yet confirm whether there were changes in the valid vote count or the 4% threshold needed for a party to enter parliament. She clarified that neither the CEC nor Information Services counted the votes, but that some ballots were recounted by court-appointed experts.
The Constitutional Court ordered a recount of the last parliamentary election ballots after discrepancies were found in more than 46% of sections in which a recount took place. The results of this further recount could allow the political group Velichie to re-enter parliament, as they only missed representation on account of 0.01% of votes.
Bulgaria's chemical sector sees mixed results amid market shifts
Despite overall revenue growth, most major companies in Bulgaria's chemical sector reported declining profits and earnings in 2023. The top 10 firms in the industry generated a combined turnover of 16.8 billion levs, with more than half attributed to Lukoil Neftochim Burgas, which regained its position as the sector leader.Lukoil's revenue surged to over 8.6 billion levs after it reverted to its previous business model, but the company remains up for sale, with potential buyers from Azerbaijan, Hungary, and Turkey. While the industry leaders-mainly oil refiners and fertilizer producers-were affected by the Ukraine war, their total revenue still accounted for around 9% of Bulgaria's GDP in 2023.
Key witness fails to recall details in Vasil Bozhkov's gambling trial
During his testimony in Vasil Bozhkov's gambling case, witness Valter Papazki repeatedly stated, "I don't recall." He was the only summoned witness to appear in Sofia City Court on March 10, 2025, in a trial where Bozhkov and former Gambling Commission officials stand accused of defrauding the state of 560 million levs in unpaid lottery taxes.Other key witnesses, including businessmen Kiril and Georgi Domuschiev, as well as Valter's brother, Georgi Papazki, failed to appear, reportedly being abroad. The prosecution insists on new evidence, while the defense argues for a swift conclusion to the trial.
Election Commission to return vote protocols to Constitutional Court
The Central Election Commission (CEC) will return the election protocols to the Constitutional Court today after completing a review of 2,204 polling stations, said CEC Chair Kamelia Neykova on bTV.The data, processed by Information Services, will be verified by the CEC before being submitted. Neykova stated that she could not yet confirm whether there were changes in the valid vote count or the 4% threshold needed for a party to enter parliament. She clarified that neither the CEC nor Information Services counted the votes, but that some ballots were recounted by court-appointed experts.
