Bulgaria's Local Elections, E-Vote Referendum Going Smoothly as of Noon

No serious incidents or violations have been reported by Sunday noontime (EET) as Bulgarians are casting ballots in local elections and a referendum on online voting.

Bulgarian voters are to elect mayors and municipal councilors, but also to have a say on whether e-voting should be made possible as an option for next elections. President Rosen Plevneliev has been the driving force behind the initiative, aruing it will boost voter turnout and draw young people and Bulgarian expats back into the country's political life.

The Interior Ministry has set up a unit for citizens without a valid ID document (either a passport or a card) to issue fast-track certificates that will enable them to vote.

The subsections with the local police departments will remain open between 08:00 and 18:00 EET on Sunday.

Voting will be underway until 19:00, with the option for polls to close an hour later where people are still queuing to cast a ballot at that time.

There have been reports of minor irregularities. In a Sofia polling station, voting began with a three-hour delay after it turned out ballots to vote for mayor were missing.

In the Southern Bulgarian village of Potochnitsa (Krumovgrad municipality), where two candidates are vying, the ballot initially included only one of them, the Bulgarian National Radio said on Sunday morning.

Electoral officials announced they would be quick to print new ballot papers for the village's 297 voters.

Some 82 claims have been submitted to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) so far which include cases such as illegal campaigning immediately next to polling stations and alleged vote buying.