site.bta Alpha Research: 58% of Bulgarians Will Vote in Local Elections

Alpha Research: 58% of Bulgarians Will Vote in Local Elections

Sofia, October 13 (BTA) - A total of 58 per cent of Bulgarians
are determined to vote in the October 25 local elections and the
 majority of them are aware of the opportunity they have to mark
 their voting preference, according to a nationally
representative poll taken by Alpha Research October 1-5 among
1,026 adult Bulgarians.

The interest in the voting preference is more pronounced in the
large cities and among respondents with a higher social status.
25 per cent intend to use the voting preference. If this rate
materializes at the elections, it will be higher than the voting
 preferences in the European and parliamentary elections last
year, pollsters comment.

Two weeks ahead of the local elections and a national referendum
 on electronic voting, 39 per cent of Bulgarians are not aware
of the campaign trail of over 42,000 candidates for mayors and
municipal councilors. Even though the local elections have a
strong majoritarian element, the activity of the political
parties remain the most visible (for 46 per cent of
respondents), leaving far behind influential local personalities
 (15 per cent) and employers and business people (11 per cent).

Social analysts comment that the focus of the campaign is
getting shifted away from informing towards directly influencing
 voters through people on whom they depend.

One in five respondents find nothing out of the ordinary when
candidates offer potential voters a variety of gifts or
services, including in-kind donations, gifts in stores,
protection against dismissal, a drink in the pub or a free trip.
 This share rises to one in four among people with poor
education, low incomes and in small population centres, and to
one in two among some ethnic minority groups.

As a result of this, an ever decreasing number of voters
(currently 14 per cent) believe that elections in Bulgaria are
fair. Their share drops as low as 7 per cent among the social
groups where votes are traded for services, gifts or cash.

Over a third of adult Bulgarians are not aware of what they have
 to do to participate in the national referendum on electronic
voting.

The weak commitment of the political parties to the cause of
distance electronic voting is seen by analysts as a product of
their reluctance to change the status quo.

Regardless whether they know or not that they are also expected
to vote on October 25 in a national referendum, 71 per cent of
Bulgarians say that voters must vote, "for" or "against", to
express their opinion.

The arguments in support of electronic voting appear to win more
 supporters than those against. The biggest advantage of
electronic voting, as seen by respondents, is that it makes
voting more accessible, especially for Bulgarians abroad and
disabled people (48 per cent) and lowers the weight of traded
votes (47 per cent).

Forty-nine per cent of respondents living in Bulgaria intend to
vote in the referendum. Those who will vote "yes" outnumber
significantly those who will vote "no" (77 to 13 per cent).

If those who vote in the referendum are no fewer than those who
voted in the latest elections, Parliament will have to make
distance electronic voting part of the election process.

The general conclusion that the social analysts make based on
the poll is that a campaign for the local elections is
strictured in a way that minimizes citizens' participation. The
competition is limited to the hard-core members or the parties
and the groups over which the local players have strong
influence.

Due to this, the campaign for the national referendum which can
enhance higher election turnout among people who would not sell
their vote, is strongly neglected by the political parties.

Regardless of this, if the declared intentions of respondents
materialize on the referendum day and if the "yes" answer
prevails as it does in the poll, for the first time in its
modern history Bulgaria will see a significant result from a
direct plebiscite, the analysts say.