PACE Delegation Arrives in Bulgaria in Elections Eve

On February 28, the now-dissolved Bulgarian Parliament voted to give the Foreign Ministry the authority to ask a mission of observers from OSSEE and from PACE. File photo

A delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is arriving in Bulgaria next week to conduct consultations on observing the upcoming snap general elections.

The six delegates from Switzerland, Sweden, Georgia, Denmark, Italy and Turkey, will arrive on April 4 on a 2-day visit to analyze the pre-election situation in the country.

They are to meet with President, Rosen Plevneliev, caretaker Prime Minister, Marin Raykov, the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission, (CEC), Krasimira Medarova, former MPs in the 41st General Assembly, and with representatives of the Bulgarian delegation in PACE, of NGOs and of the media.

On April 5, the delegation will give a briefing to reveal its conclusions.

On February 28, the now-dissolved Parliament voted to give the Foreign Ministry the authority to ask a mission of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, (OSSE) and from PACE.

An OSSE delegation already visited Bulgaria, and after talks and analyzing the situation, decided to send 240 observers.

On February 21, Bulgaria's Parliament approved the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's GERB government amidst unprecedented since 1997 protest rallies against sky-high utility bills, monopolies, stagnation, corruption and wide-spread poverty, which later turned into a civil unrest and political demands.

Snap general election is to be held May 12, just two months ahead of the regular date in July.

President, Rosen Plevneliev, named the caretaker government on March 12.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!