Bulgarian Opposition DPS Leader Demands Full Monitoring of Local Elections

Leader of the opposition Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) Lyutvi Mestan. Photo: BGNES

The leader of the opposition Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) Lyutvi Mestan demanded a full monitoring by the OSCE and PACE of the forthcoming local elections in Bulgaria in the autumn.

Mestan accused the two main ruling parties – GERB and the Reformist Bloc (RB) of exerting brutal pressure on voters in the municipality of Sarnitsa.

The second round of voting will take place in Sarnitsa, which is Bulgaria's newest municipality, on Sunday as no clear winner emerged after the first ballot was held last week.

The runoff will be contested between the candidate of DPS Nebi Bozov and the incumbent mayor Mustafa Alikanov, who is backed by GERB.

According to Mestan, the voter turnout in Sarnitsa was almost 100 %, rather than the officially announced 74 %, as nearly all eligible voters went to the polls.

The opposition leader added that voters cast their ballots peacefully with the clear consciousness that they will continue living together as neighbours after the elections.

He pointed that the local GERB mayors threatened to dismiss people with temporary emlployment and cut the electricity supply to DPS voters.

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