NEWS

President: It Is Extremely Important that as Many Citizens as Possible Participate in the Early Parliamentary Elections, which Will Strengthen the Legitimacy of the Institutions

Rumen Radev meets with OSCE officials participating in the mission to monitor the upcoming early elections

It is extremely important that as many citizens as possible participate in the early parliamentary elections, which will strengthen the legitimacy of the institutions.   High voter turnout depends on the ability of parties to propose sustainable solutions and strategic long-term policies to address challenges. This is what President Rumen Radev told OSCE ODIHR officials. On 1 March, OSCE launched an election-monitoring mission for the upcoming elections. Vice President Iliana Iotova also participated in the meeting.

During the talks, measures taken to ensure the security of the vote were discussed, as well as the organisation of voting. The head of State highlighted the role of the caretaker government, which is also working to ensure conditions for fair, transparent, and free elections. Video surveillance during the counting of ballot papers was highlighted as a means of making the electoral process transparent.

The head of State also pointed out that Bulgarian society did not need another election campaign based on the controversies between party leaders, but one oriented towards real problems. The need for political forces to turn their attention to Bulgarians abroad was also stressed.

Amendments the Electoral Code were also debated. President Radev recalled his veto on the latest amendments, which had been overridden by the MPs. In his words, the current law has changed the nature of machine voting, which has so far successfully tackled a number of voting shortcomings: it has significantly reduced the percentage of invalid ballots, errors in the protocols of the polling stations and vote buying.