Turkish-Bulgarian Liberal Leader Worried about Fair Vote

MRF leader Mestan (R) answers questions after meeting Bulgarian caretaker PM Marin Raykov (L). BGNES

Bulgarian liberal Movement for Rights of Freedoms chair Lyutvi Mestan has revoiced his concerns about the fairness of upcoming snap elections after meeting caretaker PM Marin Raykov Monday.

"The caretaker cabinet must guarantee in particular that civil servants will not be pressured to vote for outgoing ruling GERB party," stressed Mestan following the meeting.

He also referred to remarks by Mihail Konstantinov, director of the state Information Services company, who had stated that the GERB cabinet was much to prefer over the 2005-9 rule of a tri-partite coalition cabinet in which the Movement was a junior partner.

Mestan requested that Konstantinov be released from his duties on grounds of breach of neutrality.

A mathematician and electoral systems expert, Konstantinov has participated in information processing during previous elections, while the Information Services company provides relevant IT and database services in the public sector.

The MRF leader also stressed that Raykov's caretaker cabinet has the full responsibility to restore the normal functioning of all institutions following the political crisis that has gripped Bulgaria.

Marin Raykov was appointed to serve as Bulgaria's caretaker PM by President Rosen Plevneliev last Wednesday, following the February 20 resignation of former PM Boyko Borisov after a string of street protests against corruption and stagnation in Bulgaria.

Opponents have criticized the composition of Raykov's cabinet, handpicked by Plevneliev, as constituting more or less the "back office" of the previous GERB rule.

The Movement of Rights and Freedoms is currently the third-largest Bulgarian party in terms of support, with many voters traditionally coming from Bulgaria's sizable Turkish minority.

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