site.btaNew Candidate Named for Central Election Commission Chair after Original Nominee's Withdrawal

Sofia, May 7 (BTA) - There Is Such a People, the second largest
group in Bulgaria's Parliament elected on April 4, nominated
Kamelia Neykova for chairperson of the new Central Election
Commission (CEC) during additional consultations with President
Rumen Radev on Friday.

Neykova, a former CEC spokesperson, was put forward for the
position after GERB-UDF on Thursday withdrew the only other
nomination, Krassimir Tsipov, suspecting that all other parties
and coalitions in the National Assembly had conspired to blame
him for any failure by CEC to fulfill the duties assigned to it
by the latest revisions to the Election Code.

Following Neykova's nomination, Radev said that everything was
clear now and he would appoint her CEC chairperson. He thanked
the participants in the consultations for being cooperative and
responsible, and making sure the new CEC will be formed in time.
 

That conclusion was preceded by heated exchanges in which GERB
were accused by the rest of shunning responsibility as they said
 they did not want to be part of the CEC leadership. The
Movement for Rights and Freedoms suggested that the new CEC may
function without a chairperson. but the President's legal
adviser, Emilia Droumeva, said the law does not allow that.

Under the latest amendments to the Election Code, the President
has until May 15 to appoint a CEC, which should have enough time
 to prepare early parliamentary elections that Radev said are
likely be held on July 11, after the parties represented in the
legislature elected on April 4 failed to form a cabinet.

According to the same revisions, the 15 CEC members (down from
18 before) are nominated by the parliamentary forces and are
appointed by the President after consultations with the
nominating parties and coalitions. GERB-UDF will have four
representatives in the CEC, There Is Such a People and BSP for
Bulgaria will have three each, the Movement for Rights and
Freedoms and Democratic Bulgaria two each, and Rise Up! Thugs
Out! one. 

During her hearing at the President's Administration, Neykova
said that the new CEC should "get off to a flying start" and
start making decisions meeting the Election Code deadlines as
soon as its formation is decreed by the President.
 
She called the Election Code amendments "a major challenge" and
said she had been advocating machine voting right from the
outset because it makes voting easy, eliminates invalid ballots,
 and simplifies the process for voting section commissions
because the machines will print out the tally sheets after the
close of the polls.

Neykova added that the entire machine logistics will be very
important, especially for the balloting abroad.

"Good or bad, the Election Code is a step toward accessible,
fairer, more transparent elections and addresses some of the
negative aspects of our election process," President Rumen Radev
 summarized. He expects the new CEC to be firmer in promptly
penalizing all irregularities.

The head of State said he will decree the appointment of the CEC
 in due time, noting that this must be done simultaneously with
the announcement of the members of the caretaker cabinet.

GERB-UDF's CEC Deputy Chair designate Dimitar Dimitrov said that
 he would rather have the Central Election Commission renamed
"commission on compliance with legislation", which would relieve
 the administrative body from the pressure of being associated
with the campaigns.

According to BSP for Bulgaria's CEC Deputy Chair designate Emil
Voinov, the challenges facing the new CEC include completing the
 voting machine procurement procedures under the current
contract with supplier Ciela Norma, organizing a new public
procurement procedure for at least 300 voting machines for the
voting sections abroad, and making arrangements for the
transport and maintenance of the machines. Voting machines must
be delivered to at least 250 polling sections outside Bulgaria,
some of them on other continents, and they must be accompanied
by security guards and technicians to install and the devices
and keep them in working order.

Democratic Bulgaria's CEC Deputy Chair designate Tsvetozar Tomov
 agreed that machine voting poses a serious challenge in the
run-up to the forthcoming elections. He pointed to the
importance of parties and organizations having access to the
machines testing and certifying process.

Rise Up! Thugs Out!'s CEC Deputy Chair designate Rositsa Mateva
said that it is very important that the voting machines'
conformity assessment takes place publicly, in the presence of
civil society representatives and organizations and of political
 parties running in the elections, so that there would be no
doubt that the machines comply with the Election Code
requirements and with the technical specifications adopted by
the CEC. RY/LN, MT/LG