site.btaSocialist Party Complains to Bulgarian Regulators, European Institutions about PM's Election Campaign Behaviour

Sofia, March 8 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) has
complained to Bulgaria's Central Election Commission (CEC), the
Council for Electronic Media (CEM) and European institutions
about Prime Minister Boyko Borissov's election campaign
behaviour, the party said at a news briefing on Monday. The
Socialists pointed out that although he is the chief executive
of the State, Borissov is also a candidate for Parliament and
should abide by the laws during the election campaign.

"The Prime Minister is campaigning using state resources and
public funds," said BSP for Bulgaria Deputy Floor Leader Hristo
Prodanov, who tops the left coalition's candidate list for the 
23rd Multi-member Constituency in Sofia. He pointed out that the
 National Assembly was dissolved during the campaign on the
initiative of GERB and United Patriots lest the legislature be
used as a venue for political and campaign confrontation.

BSP's chief legal adviser Aglika Videnova said they had written
two complaints: one to the CEC and the other to the CEM. ''We
hope that this time round, unlike in previous campaigns, they
will take measures and fine the chief executive of the State,''
she commented. The BSP have also drawn up an open letter to the
media ''which become accomplices, covering Borissov as Prime
Minister, without realizing that he is also running for
Parliament''. The BSP has also drawn up an alert to the European
 Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe.

Videnova noted that the Election Code clearly sets out the fines
 for such violations. Two types of penalties are provided for:
between 3,000 and 15,000 leva for misusing public administrative
 resources, and between 5,000 and 15,000 leva for
misappropriating public funds, especially as a repeated
violation, she said. In her opinion, Borissov has committed a
repeated violation in recent days during his tours in
Pazardzhik, Velingrad, the Village of Dragonovo, the Town of
Shipka and in religious institutions.

Later in the day, Justice Minister Desislava Ahladova commented
on the alerts submitted by BSP for Bulgaria. She talked to
journalists in her capacity as a legal practitioner and GERB MP
candidate. According to Ahladova, a provision of the Election
Code clearly states that the prime minister, the president and
vice president, and the ministers are exempt from the mandatory
requirement for all other candidates to use service leave or
paid leave during the campaign because they have no one to whom
they can delegate their functions. "The Council of Ministers
cannot possibly stop functioning during the campaign, which is
why there are exceptions," Ahladova explained. NV/DT