Polling stations opened on Sunday at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) in Bulgarian snap parliamentary elections, Ednews informs citing BTA.

Bulgarians at home and abroad are going to the polls on Sunday to elect their new lawmakers and their new representatives in the European Parliament. These are the country's sixteenth national parliamentary elections since the start of democratic changes in 1989 and the tenth to be held before the legislature has served its full four-year term in office.

The country is also having its fifth European Parliament elections since joining the EU on January 1, 2007 and the fourth for a full five-year parliamentary term (2024-2029).

For the first time, Bulgaria holds simultaneous national parliamentary and European elections.

Of the 6,518 registered candidates in aggregate, 332 are running in both types of election.

In Bulgaria, citizens can practically vote only in the area where their present address is located. Outside Bulgaria, eligible voters can exercise their franchise at any voting section of their choice without prior registration. Of the 769 sections in 60 countries, voting for both kinds of election will be held at 388 sections in 57 countries.

The polls will close at 8:00 pm.