site.btaNational Ombudsman Manolova Confers with OSCE Mission to Bulgaria

National Ombudsman Manolova Confers with OSCE Mission to Bulgaria

Sofia, March 22 (BTA) - National Ombudsman Maya Manolova has conferred with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) mission to Bulgaria, said Manolova's Office on Wednesday.

The Ombudsman said during the meeting that machine voting in Bulgaria has failed because the Central Election Commission (CEC) did not observe the law. The Election Code clearly states that all subsequent elections after the 2016 presidential elections are to be conducted via machine voting in all 12,000 voting sections, which was also reaffirmed by the Supreme Administrative Court, Manolova noted. CEC wasted additional time after announcing a single public procurement procedure for the purchase of 12,000 machines, instead of separating it into lots, she added. Thus, the Commission and the caretaker Cabinet, which are supposed to organize the elections, gave a bad example of how the law can be broken, the Ombudsman said.

In addition to the failed machine voting, Manolova listed three problems related to the upcoming early parliamentary elections - voting by Bulgarians abroad, Turkey's intervention in the election campaign in Bulgaria, and the controlled and bought votes.

Turkey's intervention in the election campaign in this country, through its Foreign Minister and Ambassador to Bulgaria, called for a much more categorical position on behalf of the Bulgarian State and institutions. This intervention is currently being used by quasi-patriotic organizations, which are inlfating their image and ratings, turning the border with Turkey into a stage for election campaign propaganda, Manolova said.