The law just got voted in parliament, that the turks kicked out of Bulgaria in 1989 won't be able to vote this year for the European parliamentary elections. The articles talk about 100 000, but they are above 300 000. Another 350 000 remain in Bulgaria plus near a million gypsies. Who's going to take care of that?

A rare display of balls in the parliament, for sure.

http://novinite.com/view_news.php?id=76738

Politics: 15 February 2007, Thursday.

The Turkish ethnic party in Bulgaria continues boycotting the MEP voting sessions of the Parliament, taking place on Thursday.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms left the plenary hall Wednesday as a sign of protest against the newly adopted law, allowing MEP votes only by people who have lived in Bulgaria or another EU country member in the three months prior to the vote.

Later the party announced they are leaving the Parliament as well.

TURKISH OF BULGARIAN ORIGIN'S VOTING RIGHTS CAUSE DISCORD IN PARLIAMENT

Right-wing opposition boycott ruined the approval of a draft law for MEPs election on February 8 2007.

Parliamentary represented parties in opposition left the plenary hall and refused to vote the draft law after a five-hour session, mediapool.bg said.
Voting rights of Turkish citizen of Bulgarian origin resident in Turkey caused the discord. Their electoral activity is always high and in support of one of the ruling parties, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). Opposition suspects that their votes are manipulated.
Rightist Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) suggested that only Bulgarians who had lived in the country for the past six months should vote in the MEP elections. This voting principle was accepted by other EU member states like Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Lithuania.
Ruling parties said that all Bulgarians with long-term or permanent stay status in the country should vote. Their constitutional rights would be violated if they were deprived of voting right.
The voting procedure will continue on February 9 2007.
Opposition said that it would ask President Georgi Purvanov to veto the law, if the parliament approved it.