site.btaPublic Council with Central Election Commission: Mid-Pandemic Elections Are Possible, Need Careful Planning

January 7 (BTA) - In a statement on Thursday the Public
Council with the Central Election Commission (CEC) said that
holding elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic is possible but
needs careful planning and adequate safety measures.

The Council insists that CEC and the competent authorities
inform the public that they have begun preparations for the
upcoming elections in the conditions which are expected for the
spring of 2021. Such urgency is necessary because it will take
time and resources to implement the respective decisions, to
earn the trust of the political entities and of voters that
their rights will be safeguarded and voting will be relatively
safe including for members of the section election commissions.

The Council recommends that CEC reduce to a minimum the need for
 physical contact between people and between people and physical
 objects. It proposes an alternative for online meetings of
district election commissions and electronic filing of documents
 for the registration of parties, coalitions and candidates as
well as improving remote training by CEC.

The Council underscores the need for safety at voting stations.
Abundant information is available about measures implemented in
dozens of other countries which held elections since the spring
of 2020. These include personal protection equipment, control
over the number of people in the voting premises or buildings,
disinfection and  ventilation of spaces.

According to election experts, voting by people under quarantine
 cannot be cancelled as it will violate the legitimacy of the
voting process. Election Code provisions about persons with
long-term disability who can be visited by mobile voting
sections can be interpreted in a broader sense or can be amended
 to mention explicitly COVID-19 affected voters.

The Council is proposing a limited pilot project for voting by
mail which will be tabled at the National Assembly if the
Election Code is to be amended in the coming weeks.

Absences of members of the section commission is a typical
problem on voting days which can be aggravated. The Council
suggests that district election commissions which appoint the
section election commission prepare lists of backup members
based on transparent election and possibly competition. They
should be paid remuneration for training and full remuneration
as members of the section election commissions if they are
called on duty.

In order to insure the transparency of te election process, the
Council will propose to the legislator to allow for
livestreaming the counting of the ballots and the tallying of
the votes.

Instead of systemic counting of machine voting results by
section election commissions, which will unnecessarily draw out
the processing of the results, the Council suggests that results
 are reported in based on machine printouts which should be
subjected to a random control count by district election
commissions.

Later representatives of the Council disucssed the proposals
with President Rumen Radev within the framework of consultations
 initiated by him to ensure transparent elections. In connection
 with the Council's analysis of machine voting and the role of
the election administration Radev said that senior election
officials are instilling distrust in machine voting. RI/PP


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