site.btaPolitical Leaders Vote in Sunday Runoffs: President Rumen Radev

"Today, we are shaping our local governments and our future, and we should, by all means, keep the public from losing its authentic focus," President Rumen Radev told journalists on Sunday, minutes after casting his ballot in a Sofia school in the second round of the local elections.

His remark came in response to a journalist's question about Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov's proposal for the President to dismiss the head of the State Agency for National Security Plamen Tonchev. "These matters may as well be considered tomorrow," the President added.

Radev called for an in-depth analysis of everything that has happened in these elections, so that mistakes are not repeated. "We need to identify the failings which led to such a low voter turnout," he said.

The President urged the institutions to do everything to restore public confidence in political elections, including machine voting. "This is extremely important because machines have proven effective in limiting invalid votes and minimizing the absurdities in filling out tally sheets," he argued.

He sees a need for changes to the Election Code which should be aimed at bringing the election process to light.

"I voted for a decent future for Sofia and a responsible governance of the capital," the President said. He cautioned voters against allowing themselves to be isolated from the election process. "We should vote on a mass scale, because the vote of each of us matters for our own future, our community, and Bulgaria," he said.