Mayors to Check New  Residence Registrations to Prevent "Voter Tourism"

Sofia, July 9 (BTA) - The MPs passed revisions to the Civil
Registration Act on second reading Thursday instructing mayors
to set up commissions to check new address registrations made
between July 1, 2014 and April 30, 2015. The revisions are aimed
 against unlawful registrations made ahead of the upcoming local
 elections and apparently seeking to influence the election
results.

Checks by the law-enforcement authorities have detected a
significant number of unlawful residence registrations in some
parts of the country earlier in the year. The non-government
Institute for Public Environment Development reported a
6.96-fold increase of present address registrations in
February-April 2015 compared to February-April 2014 in Vidin
Region, 4.52-fold in Vratsa Region, 4.28-fold in Sofia Region,
3.57-fold in Kyustendil Region, 3.51-fold in Pernik Region, and
3.22-fold in Montana Region. Present address registrations in
February-April 2015 increased more than 15-fold from the
comparable period a year ago in eight municipalities: Treklyano,
 Gramada, Kresna, Borovan, Makresh, Boboshevo, Gorna Malina and
Rouzhintsi.

If mayors fail to issue an order for the establishment of a
commission to check the registrations, the regional governor
will do that.

The checks will have to be carried out within a month from the
entry into force of the revisions to the law.

A commission will also be established to perform a check on an
alert from a house owner.

There have been cases in which people made residence
registration without the consent of the property's owner.

Registrations which are found to have been made in violation of
the law, shall be cancelled.