site.btaElection Consultations: President Meets Three More Non-Parliamentary Forces, They Call For Mail-in Voting

Sofia, January 13 (BTA) - The non-parliamentary Movement 21
political formation want ensuring mail-in voting for the next
parliamentary elections. This transpired as the formation's
leader, Tatyana Doncheva, met with President Rumen Radev as part
 of the consultations he is holding before scheduling the
upcoming general elections.

On Wednesday Radev conferred with two more non-parliamentary
formations: the Bulgaria for the Citizens Movement and Volt.
Earlier in January, he met with several other non-parliamentary
forces, as well as with top health officials, representatives of
 the government administrations and mayors. His talks with the
parliamentary parties took place on January 12.

Doncheva urged for reconsidering the technology of voting to
allay citizens' fears about possible infection. In her words,
mail-in voting is not an exotic idea and could solve many
issues. "Exotic idea" is how the ruling GERB party described
mail-in voting during their consultations with Radev earlier in
the week.

Doncheva thinks that scheduling polling day towards mid-April
would give the state administration time to work on the
organization of the elections, while people can learn how to
vote with a machine.

Radev noted that the ruling parties are obstinately refusing to
consider possible mail-in voting. The President said that the
issue should not be dropped, but discussed and resolved by
Parliament.

The Chairman of the Bulgaria for the Citizens movement, Dimiter
Delchev, focused on the topic of vaccination, saying that
judging by the planned jabs for Bulgaria, they will not be
enough to ensure safety at the elections. In Delchev's words,
not only are vaccines in short supply for people, but they will
likely be so also for the election administration and
candidates' representatives. Delchev's formation thinks that the
 incumbents stand to gain the most from low voter turn-out and
that this "slow and chaotic" vaccination process benefits them.

Delchev said that machine voting may stave off at least some of
the manipulations, although such remain possible in the
collation of the machine tally sheets with the tally sheets of
the paper ballots, and the submission of the finalized sheets.

Radev repeated what he had said at earlier consultations, that
is, the combination of voting with paper ballots and machine
voting obviates the latter, so that he had vetoed it.

The Chairman of the Volt party, Nastimir Ananiev, focused on
expatriate Bulgarians, saying that the incumbents will prove
unable to ensure their constitutional right to vote.

According to Ananiev, mobile polling stations which GERB said
were ready to ensure, may furnish an opportunity for vote
rigging. Ananiev urged for ensuring that candidates'
representatives and observers will be able to oversee the
process. LN/ZH