Bulgarian MPs Debate Political Parties Financing

Bulgaria's President, Georgi Parvanov, threatenes to veto the new Election Code. Photo by BGNES

The Members of the Bulgarian Parliament are discussing Thursday the amendments to the Election Code pertaining to financing of political parties in election campaigns.

These amendments ban anonymous donations, donations from businesses, businessmen, religious institutions and foreign organizations. Donations by individuals to a party, coalition or initiative committee, cannot exceed BGN 10 000 a year.

Despite heated, late-night debates, the MPs already passed several changes involving Bulgaria's Central Election Commission (CEK), which now has the authority to register parties to take part in the elections in case it finds their leadership failed to meet more than two times, despite the established rules and schedule; the right to schedule presidential elections, when a president has not been elected during the first round, or having some decisions not subject to appeal such as the way of work of local election commissions.

Another amendment to the Election Code, passed late Monday, is the requirement to hold elections on Sundays only. In the last few years, partial mayoral elections were held on Saturday.

The MPs further decided to keep the permanent residency requirement in the Election Code – i.e. the mandate that the voter has a 12-month residency at a certain place in order to be allowed to participate in local elections.

The Bulgarian President, Georgi Parvanov, has already criticized the amendments to the Election Code, which has been prepared by the ruling centrist GERB party and their far-rightist allies from Ataka (Attack), stating that the proposed changes aim at facilitating their easy and unproblematic reelection. He says he is also concerned with whether the new amendments will deal will the notorious issue of vote buying.

On Wednesday, Parvanov threatened to veto the new Election Code.