PACE: Bulgaria Needs Free, Fair Elections to Overcome Crisis

The six-member PACE delegation arrived in Bulgaria on a two-day mission to assess the electoral framework and campaign prior to the early parliamentary elections scheduled for May 12. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria needs free and fair elections as only this can give the next parliament the legitimacy it needs in order to overcome the political and social crisis, a PACE delegation has concluded.

A six-member pre-electoral delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a statement at the end of a two-day visit to Sofia (4-5 April 2013).

“Therefore, in the next few weeks, trust in the democratic process must be restored so that the street protests can transform into participation,” said the delegation, led by Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC).

“Many Bulgarians live in a desperate financial situation and unemployment has doubled in the past few years. A climate of suspicion has led many citizens to lose confidence in political parties and in the democratic process in general. The total lack of trust between the parties themselves, both majority and opposition, exacerbates an already tense situation,” the parliamentarians said.

The pre-electoral delegation said it was pleased that the President and the caretaker government see achieving free and fair elections as their first priority.

“While the electoral law cannot now be changed, the caretaker government and the newly-created election board may help to increase the transparency and the fairness of its implementation,” the delegation said.

The delegation expressed its concern about the role of the media:

“It is a shame that political parties and candidates have to pay to make their message heard, and that paid broadcasts on television are not presented as such to the viewer.”

Furthermore, the delegation regretted that national minorities cannot engage in campaigning in their own language. It also expressed its concern about allegations of vote-buying and called on all political players to refrain from exercising administrative or economic pressure on citizens. In addition, the parliamentarians said, every effort must be made to ensure the accuracy of the voter lists.

Finally, the delegation called on the citizens of Bulgaria to use the forthcoming weeks to communicate their concerns to the parties, to listen and to discuss the proposals put forward by the parties and to use this information to make up their minds and to express their opinion by using the ballot-box.

During its visit the delegation met with the President of the Republic, members of the caretaker government including the Prime Minister, representatives of the Central Electoral Commission, the Bulgarian delegation to PACE, representatives of the parties and coalitions standing for election, and civil society representatives.

A full 21-member delegation from the Assembly will return to the country to observe the voting before making a final assessment.

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