With 7 votes "in favor" and one "abstained" the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee supported and will propose to the National Assembly to adopt on first reading the proposal moved by MRF the ballot paper to contain a box in front of party and coalition names and a circle in front of the numbers of party lists candidates. The previous edition of the Election Code provided for a box in both cases.

GERB Deputy Floor Leader Tsetska Tsacheva was the only MP to abstain arguing that the text was not proposed during the amendments discussion on first reading in the Committee.

Committee Chairman Chetin Kazak motivated his proposal to the lawmakers with the argument that there is a danger to confuse voters upon voting if the geometric shapes are identical. According to him, the change aims to facilitate all voters, not just the MRF electorate.

The Members of Parliament from Coalition for Bulgaria did not participate in the vote. According to Smilyana Nitova, they do not accept any exercising on the Election Code in the campaign phase.

Chetin Kazak explained that there is no obstacle to using the new ballot design in the European elections as the CEC has to approve the form up to 30 days prior to election day, which is April 24.