Polling stations are open in every European country, and there are no reports of problems with the election boards, said Radi Naydenov, permanent secretary and head of the election working group at Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry.
The first Bulgarian voters abroad cast their ballots last night, when stations opened in Auckland, New Zealand. One station there has already closed, and fewer than 100 people voted. There are 613 stations outside Bulgaria, in 60 countries. Election day for Bulgarians in California and Nevada ends at 5am Bulgarian time on Monday.
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Naydenov spoke at a briefing on the vote abroad. Voting in Turkey and the UK has gone smoothly so far, he said. The stations on the west coast of North America will close last.
Naydenov gave no figures on turnout. He referred questions to the Central Election Commission, which has the data.
Boryana Stoynova, head of the ministry's information and communication systems department and deputy head of the working group, called on voters to check the address of their station on the websites of the ministry and of Bulgarian embassies and consulates. She said addresses abroad can change from one election to the next, especially for stations outside embassies and consulates.
The election section of the ministry's website has a table of addresses, including in the language of the host country, an interactive map of the stations and a tool to check whether you are on the voter lists for abroad.
People who are not on the lists can still vote. They fill in and sign a declaration before the station's election board, stating that they have the right to vote and have not voted elsewhere.
Naydenov thanked the Central Election Commission, the ministries that helped prepare the vote, the Foreign Ministry staff, the embassies and consulates, and the Bulgarian communities that helped organise it.
"Vote! Every vote counts," Naydenov urged.