site.btaIMRO Objects to Voting Sections in Turkey for Bulgaria's Presidential Elections

IMRO Objects to Voting Sections in Turkey for Bulgaria's Presidential Elections

Sofia, July 25 (BTA) - Reacting to TV footage showing that Bulgarian ethnic Turks in Turkey may be rounded up for voting en masse in Bulgarian elections, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) said on Monday that voting sections must not be opened in Turkey for Bulgaria's presidential elections due this autumn. Given the extremely alarming situation in that country, fair voting and lawfulness cannot be guaranteed, the party said.

The IMRO is opposed to any attempts to use immigrants in Turkey to blackmail Bulgaria.

IMRO leader Krassimir Karakachanov commented: "Having witnessed the rigging and violations of Bulgarian elections in Turkey in the past, what can we expect at a time when that country is in a state of emergency?"

It would be even more dangerous "to involve Turkish-speaking people in Bulgaria," according to IMRO.

The party asked Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov and the Foreign Ministry, which organizes Bulgarian elections abroad, not to open voting sections in Turkey for the upcoming presidential elections in Bulgaria.