A total of 20 parties and coalitions started officially their parliamentary election campaigns which will end on July 4. The number determined by a lot and affixed to each party is as follows: 1. Order, Lawfulness, Justice (OLJ); 2. Leader; 3. GERB; 4. Movement for Rights and Freedoms; 5. Ataka;6. Coalition for Bulgaria; 7. Union of Patriotic Forces "Defence"; 8. National Movement for Surge and Stability; 9. Bulgarian Agrarian National Union Coalition; 10. Bulgarian Left Coalition; 11. Party of Liberal Alternative and Peace; 12. The Greens Party; 13. Social Democrats; 14. Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Bulgarian National Movement; 15. The Other Bulgaria; 16. Union of Bulgarian Patriots; 17. National Movement for the Salvation of the Motherland; 18. Bulgarian National Union - ND; 19. The Blue Coalition; 20. For the Motherland - DGI-NL.

Later in the day, however, Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Spokespersons Ralitsa Negentsova and Alexander Alexandrov reported a change in the above number - 14 parties and 4 coalitions will run in the elections race. The registration of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Bulgarian New Democracy, and the coalition, Bulgarian Agrarian National Union (BANU) - Agrarian National Union, BANU and Nikola Petkov People's Agrarian Party, was annulled for failure to provide the required number of citizens' signatures.

The two political parties stated that they would not appeal the CEC decision because they have an agreement with OLJ to run jointly in the elections.

The independent majority-voting candidates will be added after all numbers according to the order of their registration. The shortest list will be in Vidin - with three seats, and the longest lists will be in Sofia and Varna - with twelve seats each.

Sociological surveys on polling day will be carried out by MBMD Consulting, the Skala Agency, BBSS Gallup International, AFIS, Alpha Research, and Sova 5.

The observers who will monitor the lawfulness of the elections are the local chapter of Transparency International, the Korektivi Association GISDI, Bulgarian Association for Fair

Elections and Civil Rights - National Association, and Bulgarian Association for Fair Elections and Civil Rights - Pleven.

Information Services will carry out the computer processing and the issuing of a Central Electoral Commission bulletin with the results of the elections.

During the elections, in nine sections electronic voting will be carried out on an experimental basis. Such a step is undertaken for the first time. It requires training of the members of the sectional and regional electoral commissions.

Polling stations will be equipped with nontransparent boxes, magnetic cards for the management of the system, and an automated system with which the result will be reported, as well as a technical device for turning on the technical system. People who want to vote by electronic means should ask the commission chair for a special magnetic card with which to carry out the voting.

Source: BTA