Ex-President Parvanov: Leading Parties to Lose from Mandatory Vote

All major political parties who have a firm electorate would lose from the introduction of mandatory voting, says ex-Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.

Parvanov, a former Socialist Party member who now leads the ABV movement, is generally against mandatory voting, but realizes it would minimize the effect of vote-buying.

On Friday, the leader of the ruling BSP Sergey Stanishev announced that he foresees early elections, but did not set a specific date. He also proposed the introduction of mandatory voting for all citizens.

Parvanov believes that even BSP, who propose this idea, will be hurt by it on elections. As a way out of its difficult situation, the ex-President is clear that BSP's leadership must collectively resign.

As a possible date for parliamentary elections, Parvanov said this depends on whether constitutional amendments will have to be made.