EC Expects Bulgarian Parties to Try to Form Govt

The European Commission expects Bulgarian political parties to try to form a government and intends to refrain from offering comments until then, according to EC Spokesperson Pia Hansen. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The European Commission has vowed to come up with statements on the results of the May 12 general elections in Bulgaria and the scandal with the 350 000 illegally printed ballots in due time.

"We are familiar with the election results in Bulgaria, taking into account that there are overseas votes which are yet to be received by the Central Electoral Commission, and we also take into consideration the report of the observers of the electoral process from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe," said Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, Spokesperson of the European Commission, in response to a series of questions on the situation in Bulgaria.

Hansen, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), noted Wednesday that the EC expected political parties to form a government, adding that the EC would not offer any comments before that.

Asked why the EC had not yet congratulated the winners in the May 12 parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, Hansen said that when she had something to say, she would do it.

"Taking into account the process we witnessed, I still have nothing to say. Having in mind that there are still unprocessed ballots from overseas sections, it is not unusual that we have not yet extended congratulations or issued some other sort of official statement, we will do it in due time," she said.

Responding to a question about the 350 000 illegally printed ballots discovered at the Multiprint printing house in Kostinbrod just hours ahead of Election Day and the latest press conference of Bulgaria's prosecuting authority on the matter, Hansen suggested that the prosecutors had presented the details pertaining to the case only shortly before the start of the daily briefing of the EC.

"Let us get acquainted with the findings and draw our conclusions. At this stage all I know is that the Bulgarian authorities have published their analysis" she added.

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