site.btaPresident Consults with Central Election Commission, Denies Promoting Idea of Two-day General Elections

January 8 (BTA) - President Rumen Radev Friday continued his meetings with officials to discuss ways to ensure fair and safe elections when Bulgarians vote for a new Parliament. Meeting with top officials of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the head of State denied being behind and promoting the idea of holding the general elections over two days. He thanked the media for covering the consultations he has been holding since January 5, but called for correctness in journalists' reports instead of interpretations of the information being reported. In his words, he has clearly stated that ideas and proposals for two-day elections have been submitted to him and, naturally, he has been sharing these with mayors. "Let mayors say what huge problems exist if we choose this option," he added.

Friday's meeting was also attended by representatives of the Directorate General for Civil Registration and Administrative Services, the National Statistical Institute, the Bulgarian Standardization Institute, and the Electronic Governance Executive Agency.

The President presented to the participants in the meeting proposals he has received during his consultations with various organizations. In his words, it would be a good sign if people working at the polling districts know that they will receive a protective mask of a certain class, as is the case in various countries, that they will be given clear instructions whether to change the masks, how often to air the rooms, and what the rooms should be like. It would also be a good sign to give a pack of personal protective equipment to voters coming to the polling districts, as a way to show that the State cares for its citizens and to increase the trust in the election process, he said.

According to CEC head Alexander Andreev, the voting of voters placed in isolation over COVID-19 cannot be regulated without amendments to the Election Code, because neither voting by post nor voting by proxy is regulated in Bulgarian legislation. In his words, democratic and fair elections need to be guaranteed, and broad interpretation could cast doubt on these principles, which is also tied to the trust in the election process.

Andreev mentioned machine voting as another challenge in the coming elections. A supplier of the 9,600 voting machines needed has already been selected, he recalled. Asked by the President about an audit of the machines, Andreev said that personally, he does not see an obstacle to inviting NGOs to participate in the process of certifying and auditing the voting machines.

RI/DS


/DT/