site.btaPresident to Veto Election Code Amendments which Restrict Expatriates' Voting Rights

President to Veto Election Code Amendments which Restrict Expatriates' Voting Rights

Sofia, May 7 (BTA) - President Rosen Plevneliev will veto recent amendments to the Election Code which restrict the voting rights of Bulgarians abroad, and will return them to the National Assembly for further discussion, the President's Press Secretariat said on Saturday.

Plevneliev believes that the Election Code should ensure fair elections both in and outside the country and he supports any democratic change to this end. But he holds that this should not lead to unequal treatment of Bulgarians abroad. Election rules are supposed to create the best possible conditions for citizens to elect their representatives, rather than strike a balance between the parties in Parliament, he said.

He welcomed those Election Code amendments which introduced remote electronic voting. He expressed his conviction that the change is viewed positively by the Bulgarian people. "The National Assembly has set a good example of interaction between direct democracy and representative democracy and has shown that it serves the people and reckons with their will, as expressed in a referendum," he said.

Plevneliev reasoned that by amending the Election Code, the National Assembly apparently wanted to give expatriate Bulgarians broader opportunities to take part in political elections by remote electronic voting, but while this voting method is not yet a reality, the Assembly has imposed restrictions affecting expatriates. He said he cannot accept the establishment of mutually exclusive rules by the same legislative act.

The President's decree to return the provisions to the National Assembly for further discussion and the reasoning for his decision will be provided to the legislature.

REACTIONS

Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Floor Leader of the ruling GERB party, said in the southern town of Zlatograd that the President is right about many of the reasons he has given for his decision. Tsvetanov said the future veto must be followed by political consultations among the parliamentary groups "in order to arrive at the best decision that will ensure the stability of the government."

He noted that the amendments were the result of much compromise on the part of GERB with a view to maintaining the stability of the government and the nation. Tsvetanov noted that the Patriotic Front, which is GERB's partner in the ruling coalition, also made compromise about compulsory voting and about voting abroad. Basically, GERB is opposed to changing the election rules, but the amendments became necessary after the referendum on electronic government, he said.

The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO, a Patriotic Front member) said in a press release they are against the intended presidential veto, which they described as "irresponsible, unacceptable and endangering Bulgaria's national security."

"The IMRO will negotiate for a common position of the Patriotic Front which will be underpinned by our firm conviction that unless this outrageous, pro-Turkish veto is overridden, there will be no point and no value for us in remaining a part of this majority which supports the current government, not even for another hour," the party said.

It noted that the Election Code amendments which were proposed by the Patriotic Front were aimed to end the longtime "outrageous interference of the authorities in Turkey" in the internal affairs of Bulgaria. The IMRO accused the Turkish authorities of illegal practices in "organizing" the campaigns for Bulgarian elections among voters living in Turkey, saying that they do it for the benefit of "their own political projects" in Bulgaria - the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DOST, and the People's Party for Freedom and Dignity. "The establishment of hundreds of voting sections in Turkey beyond the control of the Bulgarian government is a way to rig the elections on a massive scale, which has a direct impact on the National Assembly [in Bulgaria] and plays a key role in forming the government and the political majority," the party said.

"President Plevneliev's decision is irresponsible, unacceptable and solely favouring the goals of President Erdogan and the Turkish political interests and ambitions in Bulgaria," the IMRO said.