Bulgarian MEP Nikolay Barekov's Party Barred from Running in Early Election

Nikolay Barekov's Reload Bulgaria party will be unable to run with its new name as its leader demands, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has said.

The CEC's ruling comes less than a day after registration for the upcoming snap parliamentary vote ended.

The election body insists it cannot approve the party's application as it demands that its new name, Prezaredi Bulgaria (translated as Reload Bulgaria / Recharge Bulgaria), is on the ballot.

Bulgaria without Censorship, formerly a movement centered around Barekov that helped him gain a seat in the European parliament, lost its influence on Bulgarian politics in a few years.

Lately, however, Barekov has sought to refurbish it, launching it as a new project called Prezaredi Bulgaria.

While the Sofia City Court granted Barekov's request to rename the party on February 02, the ruling did not enter into force until February 09, Thursday, as a 7-day appeal deadline was to be observed.

The registration for March 26's election ended on February 08, which meant the CEC could not recognize the party's new name.

The ruling can be appealed with the Supreme Administrative Court in three days.

Barekov on Thursday morning lashed out at the CEC, calling it a "partisan" institution breaching its own law.

He accused the commission of accepting the party's documents without any objection and then taking a U-turn in its position.

The CEC's decision was published on its website at 00:20 on Thursday.

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