BULGARIAN residents in Fermanagh played a part in the country’s parliamentary election last Sunday, July 11, when a polling station was set up in Enniskillen to allow Bulgarian citizens living in the Border area to vote on the future of their homeplace.

A polling station was established in Fermanagh for the first time to enable more than 500 Bulgarian residents to partake in the Bulgarian national parliamentary elections.

Bulgarians living abroad have been eligible to vote in their country’s elections for 30 years, but the case had to be made to establish a demand for a regional polling station in Enniskillen for the Border region, including Fermanagh, as the nearest polling station for Bulgarian residents in the past was Armagh.

Bulgarians living locally, Nina Georgieva (Maguiresbridge) and Yani Yanev (Enniskillen) petitioned the Bulgarian Embassy, and the local Bulgarian Citizens Committee set about having as many Bulgarians as possible registered to vote online.

Jim Ledwitch, who works closely with the Bulgarian community in Fermanagh, added: “Factories such as Kerry foods, The Crust and Crumb, Derrylin and Encirc were obvious job hotspots where online voting registration was encouraged.”

Jim explained why Fermanagh House was selected. He said: “Fermanagh House was selected as the polling station given it has played host to the weekly Bulgarian state-sponsored Bulgarian language school for children, as their parents were familiar with the surroundings.

"Strict protocols were in place in regard to Covid-19, as well as rigorous checks on documentary evidence of citizens's entitlement to vote. The elections booth opened at 7am and finished at 8pm.”

Voters travelled for the occasion from the adjoining counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan, and there was a 97 per cent turnout of those registered to vote, with Bulgarian voters who had been unregistered to vote beforehand also enabled to register on the same day, with the help of trained volunteers.

Jim hailed the day as a great success, and added: “The atmosphere at the polling station was one of happiness as many families used the occasion to meet fellow Bulgarian citizens to discuss living in Fermanagh, and pertinent issues such as achieving the all-important settlement status which enables people from abroad to access services.”

Upon the closure of the poll, the dedicated polling room was sealed and secured, with voting boxes leaving for Belfast for counting.

For Nina and Yani, the polling station initiative was a huge success in enabling resident Bulgarians to participate in the affairs of Bulgaria.