Sofia Decides — Bulgaria's First Decidim-Based Participatory Budget With National e-Authentication

Sofia Municipality ran the Bulgarian capital's first participatory budget in 2020: BGN 1.5 million (about €750,000) for projects implementable in 2021, with expert review followed by a month of public voting open to all residents.
The programme now runs as 'Sofia Decides', built on the open-source Decidim framework and, according to the municipality's own account, the first Bulgarian platform to combine Decidim with the national e-authentication system, allowing secure remote voting with residence verification. District committees evaluate proposals and implementation can be tracked in real time.
Reported results: in 2024, 15,000 residents voted and 77 projects were selected from 370 proposals; in 2025 voting rose to more than 24,000 voters. Over 600 ideas have been submitted in total, yielding playgrounds, sports facilities and street lighting. The team reports that 71% of the 2024 projects were already under implementation, and the platform won the 2025 BAIT Award for Public Administration.
Limits: figures come largely from the municipality and awards bodies; no independent evaluation of outcomes, of who participates, or of final delivery rates was found, and the number of implemented projects depends on votes and budget. Its reuse of an open-source stack and national e-ID is the most transferable element for other cities.

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