Photo: Screenshot from video/Municipality of Nedelino.
The regional governor of Smolyan, Zahari Sirakov, has been summoned to return decisions made by the Municipal Council in Nedelino on September 30 this year, in which a roll-call vote was conducted by a show of hands. The signal was sent by a journalist from “Za Istinata” (For the Truth) with a request that the practice be discontinued and that the Law on Local Self-Government and Local Administration (ZMSMA) be complied with in the future.
The practice became public
The strange “innovative” practice was described in the publication “Roll call by a show of hands? In Nedelino, they are replacing the law with gestures,” where Chairman Veselin Kehayov can be heard announcing a “roll call vote” on September 30, and immediately afterwards inviting the councilors to vote by a show of hands. The text quotes verbatim remarks, provides links to the video archive, and includes excerpts from the minutes in which this wording is repeated many times. This practice has existed in Nedelino for years, Veselin Kehayov confirmed to Za Istinata. He specified that voting “by roll call with a show of hands” was not introduced by him, but was inherited from the previous chairman.
One thing in the law, another in the chamber
The Local Self-Government Act and the Rules of Procedure of the Municipal Council of Nedelino require that during a roll call vote, the chair or an authorized person reads out the names of the councilors in alphabetical order, and each of them responds personally, aloud, and clearly “for,” “against,” or “abstain.”
The journalistic report explicitly insists, under Article 45, paragraph 4 of the Local Self-Government and Local Administration Act, that the regional governor return the decisions of the Municipal Council of Nedelino, adopted on September 30, 2025, for reconsideration, as the “roll-call” vote was conducted by a show of hands, in contravention of Article 27(6). In addition, pursuant to Article 32, paragraph 1, item 5 of the Administration Act, it is insisted that a mandatory instruction be issued to the chairman and councilors to conduct roll-call voting by name in the future.
The regional governor is next
Such practices are rarely corrected on their own, and the regional governor has also overlooked this. The fact that this has been the voting practice in Nedelino for years confirms this. Zahari Sirakov is expected to make a statement. If the decisions of September 30 are reversed and an instruction to comply with the law is issued, the Municipal Council in Nedelino will have to hold an extraordinary meeting to revote on all decisions as required by law.
Otherwise, there remains the risk of legal uncertainty and challenges to acts when it is convenient for someone, but to the detriment of the citizens of Nedelino.
