Articles 65 and 93 (2) of the Constitution and Articles 244 and 308 of the Electoral Code prohibit persons with dual citizenship to stand for parliamentary and presidential election. The Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters refers to the European Convention on Nationality, which provides in Article 17 that “Nationals of a State Party in possession of another nationality shall have, in the territory of that State party in which they reside, the same rights and duties as
other nationals of that State Party”. The Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR are aware that Bulgaria made a reservation to Article 17 upon the ratification of the Convention. Yet, the evolving jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights suggests that the deprivation of the right to be eligible for election for persons with dual citizenship might be contrary to Article 3 Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. According to  the same case law, general restrictions on electoral rights, such as a blanket restriction forpersons with dual citizenship, has to be assessed in the context of a state’s specific historic and political situation and may be more difficult to justify with the passage of time. As it standsthere is a risk that the restriction of electoral rights for persons with dual citizenship will be found in contradiction to Article 3 Protocol 1 if a case were to be filed on these grounds.