site.btaMedia Review: June 12

JUNE 9 ELECTIONS AFTERMATH

Trud, Telegraph, 24 Chasa quote caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev who said that the June 9 2-in-1 elections for National Assembly and European Parliament were fair and transparent, as confirmed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)parliamentary delegation which verified the vote. The Prime Minister indicated that he hopes Bulgaria will have a stable parliament that will serve its full four year term, as well as a regular government.

Telegraph publishes a look at the distribution of seats in parliament after the results of Sunday's elections were processed: GERB-UDF with 68 MPs; the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) with 47 MPs; Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) with 39 MPs; Vazrazhdane with 38 MPs;  BSP for Bulgaria with 19 MPs; There Is Such a People (TISP) with 16 MPs and Velichie [Grandeur] with 13 MPs. 

Sega, Trud report that a little over 2 million Bulgarians voted for the parliamentary elections, the according to central Election Commission data. A total of 6,138,050 had the right to vote, but only 2,074,192 exercised their right, equating to a 34.41%, voter turnout, making the June 9 elections the least attended in Bulgaria's democratic history.  In the elections for European Parliament, the turnout was similar, 33.79%, which was not the lowest among European countries. The record holder there was Croatia.

Trud, Telegraph note that almost all parties entering the 50th National Assembly have lost thousands of votes compared to the previous parliamentary elections on April 2, 2023. GERB-UDF lost 139,322 votes; CC-DB lost 313,221; Vazrazhdane lost 62,259; BSP for Bulgaria lost 74,357 voters. Two parties marked an increase: the MRF with 18,862 votes and TISP by 24,015 votes. Some the ""I Support No One" option also marked a decrease by 45,236. 

24 Chasa points out that the low voter turnout hit not only the results of the parties, but also depleted state subsidies by around BGN 3.9 million. By law, the parties that received more than 1% of the votes in the last parliamentary elections have the right to receive a subsidy from the state. For coalitions, the requirement is that they have entered parliament.

Trud established that GERB-UDF, MRF and BSP voters preferred paper ballots, while CC-DB voters preferred machine voting.  The reason for the inspection was a statement by Oleksiy Goncharenko, leader of the PACE delegation which was in Bulgaria to monitor the conduct of the elections. He noted that he had seen the big difference in results between the machine vote and the paper ballot, and noted that if the two were counted separately, it would result in two completely different parliaments. 

On the air of bTV, analysts Alexander Andreev and Rumyana Decheva said that the money that political parties give for campaigning on social media is not reported to the Central Election Commission, which results in a parallel campaign. Despite decisions of the Council of Europe and the European Commission, Bulgaria is not paying attention to this, said Decheva, noting that these funds are not being spent completely opaquely, because some political leaders voluntarily declare them. She noted that social media also does not follow the rule of no campaigning on the day before the elections and floods people with information.  

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Duma, Sega, Trud, Telegraph report that Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Korneliya Ninova handed in her resignation due to the party's poor election results. Unlike CC-DB Co-chair Hristo Ivanov, who handed in his resignation as Yes,Bulgaria party leader on Monday, Ninova has no intention of giving up her seat in the next parliament. Ninova has already resigned once after an electoral defeat in 2021, but for several months the party congress she convened refused to accept her resignation from the post. Ninova's decision comes a day after the youth union of the BSP called on her to step down. The BSP will hold a full cycle of internal elections in the autumn.

Mediapool quotes two on Ninova's biggest opponents in the BSP, Sergey Stanishev and Kiril Dobrev, who both expect her to try to lead the party again. Dobrev called the resignation a "political show", and argued that she is the main reason that the left-wing does not unite. 24 Chasa quotes former BSP-Sofia leader Ivan Takov, who has similar sentiments and urges for an earlier BSP election in the summer instead of in autumn.

On bTV’s Wednesday morning programme Hristo Prodanov from the BSP noted that the party has lost 800,000 votes and that something has to change. "Apparently we are not explaining something to people properly. Another reason for the outflow is the political crisis, which affects all parties and the political system equally," said Prodanov. He noted that major changes are coming in the BSP in order to reverse the trend and the party to attract voters again, and that Ninovs’s resignation this time holds more weight.

BSP’s Atanas Zafirov said on the air of Nova TV  that is possible that the BSP support a cabinet as long as it corresponds to their views, but a technical cabinet, without political leaders. "There is no way we can support a cabinet with Prime Minister Borissov," said Zafirov. He noted that it is all largely conditional, as it is not yet clear what the BSP leadership[ composition it will be.

24 Chasa, Sega, Trud write that at least for the moment, the other leaders of the CC-DB coalition have no intention of following the example of their colleague Hristo Ivanov who resigned on Monday. Atanas Atanasov, chairman of Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB), will seek a vote of confidence from his fellow party members at a party congress, and Kiril Petkov from Continue the Change (CC) said that his party will convene "to consider the new situation in depth". Petkov confirmed his words from the first hours after the end of the vote that CC will be a "strong and constructive" opposition.

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In its morning programme, bTV notes that results of the elections and the record low voter turnout after another short-term National Assembly raised more questions than answers. Political scientist Hristo Panchugov said that if GERB and CC-DB continue to behave as they have, the traditional parties will continue to lose votes. There needs to be a conversation about politics, and there has not been any statements from the political leaders yet, he noted, adding that politicians, used to their old schemes, have no idea what's coming. Panchugov noted that it is important to understand how a party that "appeared yesterday using YouTube enter Parliament", referring to Velichie. Hea also said that the MRF have undeniably become the second political force.

On the air of Bulgarian National Television (BNT), Veselin Stoynev, Diana Damyanova and Slavi Vasilev commented on the post-election situation and the number of resignations. Damyanova said that there is a huge political leadership problem in Bulgaria, as people refuse to vote for parties with certain leaders. There are currently two big parties in Bulgaria – Boyko Borissov's GERB and Delyan Peevski's MRF. Stoynev said that Peevski proved that he can increase electoral support, but not that much - 5% compared to the previous elections. The issue is that he has the symbolic second place this is already a problem, he added. Vasilev argued that Bulgaria is on the verge of yet another election, He noted that even if a government is formed, it would not last a full four-year term.

On the air of Nova TV, PR expert Nidal Algafari, political scientist Milen Lyubenov and Gallup sociologist Kancho Stoychev commented on the political situation. Stoychev said that the probability of forming a regular cabinet is at least 70-80%. "People don't vote because they lack faith and a meaningful alternative, he said, noting that CC-DB has the biggest outflow. Lyubenov argued that the only possible option for a coalition is between the first two political forces in the National Assembly, GERB-UDF and MRF. Algafari argued that GERB will offer cooperation to CC-DB. After their previous partners refuse, GERB will return the mandate and give it to the MRF and support a government under their mandate.

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Sega, 24 Chasa report that there was a huge voter turnout of 59% compared to the national average in Bozhurishte municipality, which held a 3-in1 election - the third part being a referendum on carrying out of exploration activities and the mining of gold on the Zlatusha area. An overwhelming 96.81% voted against. The public movement against exploration and possible gold mining in the area arose after Canadian gold mining company Velocity Minerals said in March that it was beginning to explore the Zlatusha copper-gold deposit. In March, it signed an agreement for the acquisition of 75% of it with the Bulgarian company Zelenrok, owned by the Australian Raiden Resources. Opponents of gold mining have launched an intensive campaign to convince the residents of Bozhurishte and the region, stating that many rivers pass through Zlatusha, which will be polluted during the mining activity, and also that there are many cultural and historical sites that will suffer.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

On the air of Bulgarian National Television, second candidate in the list of MEPs from Vazrazhdane, Petar Volgin, who, as Mediapool pointed out is the candidate with the highest number of preferential votes (71,224) in the Bulgarian European Parliament elections, said that this is the first time that his party will hold seats in the European Parliament. “We are currently holding talks with various political forces. If there is an understanding and there are similarities, we could make a new group in the European Parliament," said Volgin. He argued that it is more important to have a position on every important issue than joining a political family. He noted that all the media talk about far-right policies, but argued that there are no far-right and far-left parties in the EP. "The green deal led to extremely bad results for Bulgaria. We will want to renegotiate the closure of the coal plants until 2026," he commented.

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Mediapool, Trud, 24 Chasa report that for the first time, a Bucharest Nine (B9) summit ended without a joint declaration due to a lack of consensus regarding aid to Ukraine. The forum was boycotted by Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok, and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev confirmed the division between the countries. Radev explained that at his insistence there is no obligation for any country to provide military aid to Ukraine, but optional aid.

24 Chasa writes that at the same time, Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev was in Berlin at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which Volodymyr Zelenskyy also attended. There, Glavchev said that Bulgaria is ready to donate energy equipment worth 1 BGN million to Ukraine for the restoration of production facilities in the country. The process of selling the equipment meant for the unfinished Belene NPP to Ukraine is in an advanced phase, a corridor for the export of domestically produced electricity to Ukraine is also being discussed, Glavchev explained. 

Trud writes that Ukraine did not ask for permission to use the weapons provided by Bulgaria to strike targets in Russia. This was stated by the Ministry of Defence in response to an inquiry from the Bulgarian National Radio. The institution added that with the armament that the country has provided this is impossible. The strikes against Russia by Ukraine with Western weapons has been a hot topic in recent days. 

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On the air of bTV on Wednesday, former Bulgarian foreign minister Nadezhda Neynsky commented that if there is no cabinet in a few days, there is a risk that Bulgaria will send its caretaker Prime Minister to the election of a new European Commission. The caretaker government tried to change the country’s geopolitical orientation with the position on Srebrenica, Neynsky pointed out and noted that this was not due to incompetence. She called President Rumen Radev's statement that there is no common NATO decision on military aid to Ukraine a provocation to Bulgaria's position. The European People's Party achieved its highest result, Neynsky commented on the results of the vote in Europe. She added that although there is a rise of nationalists on the continent, they are not united.

HOME AFFAIRS

Mediapool, Trud report that the current director of Pirogov Hospital, Dr. Valentin Dimitrov, is the only one admitted to the last stage of the currently ongoing competition for a new management of the emergency hospital. Dimitrov and Dr. Atanas Andreev submitted documents for the post, but the latter was not admitted to the final stage of the competition which will consist of an interview. Thus, it is likely that Dimitrov will continue to manage Pirogov for a new three-year term. Dimitrov had previously declared that he would not apply for another run after his term expired. Former health minister Hristo Hinkov tried to fire him at the end of last year after violations were detected during an audit of the hospital. However, GERB and MRF stood up for Dimitrov and politicized the by threatening to not vote on the state budget if Hinkov did not change his mind.

Sega reports that the long-awaited competition for notaries may be blocked due to complaints by notaries who have filed complains against the order of the Minister of Justice to announce said competition. The last competition for notaries was in 2018. The exam for the vacant 52 spots is currently scheduled for August 25, but it can be postponed indefinitely. Of the announced notary positions, 42 are vacant and 10 are newly opened, 4 in Sofia, and one each in Velingrad, Devin, Momchilgrad, Radomir, Slivnitsa, Tsarevo. By law, the number of notaries is tied to the population. "Old" notaries usually do not want competition, the publication notes, adding that the competition for notaries has already been delayed by a year. It was originally announced in early 2023 by the then-caretaker justice minister Krum Zarkov. However, a number of complaints from notaries followed, due to which the competition remained in limbo.

Trud quotes a Eurobarometer survey presented on Tuesday by the European Commission in a report on the state of justice in the EU, which indicates that most Bulgarians (65%) are dissatisfied with the work of the judicial system in the country. Some 55% of Bulgarian businesses the participated in the survey expressed mistrust in the justice system.

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Trud, Sega, Mediapool, 24 Chasa report that National Revenue Agency (NRA) head Rumen Spetsov has ordered inspections of the companies of Ivelin Mihaylov, ideologue of the Velichie [Grandeur] party and creator of the Historical Park near Varna. The reason are signals about financial schemes and fraud. Spetsov added that these proceedings are underway but there are no results yet, but that Mihaylov's companies have accumulated unpaid taxes. He clarified that the signals submitted to the tax authorities against MIhaylov’s companies are not related with the start of the election campaign. 

Trud reports that the State Agency for National Security (SANS) has started inspections against the members of the Public Council for the construction of a National Children's Hospital. The members of the council said that the investigation began after the government's permission for a private children's hospital was withdrawn. Lawyer Maria Sharkova, a member of the Public Council for the National Children's Hospital, said that she was puzzled as to why the SANS was conducting this check as it can hardly be related to national security. So far, the Ministry of Health has not commented on the inspections, nor whether the Public Council will be dissolved. 

ECONOMY

Telegraph, Sega, Mediapool, 24 Chasa report that barley harvest has started in Southern Bulgaria. This week, the harvesting of wheat will also begin in some places. And in the granary of Bulgaria, Dobrudzha, the harvest is expected to start after June 25-27. Before the start of the harvest, the regional agriculture directorates predicted about 5,300 kg average yield per hectare for wheat and 5,000 kg/hectare for barley. This estimation would make this year's harvest weaker than last year's, when the average yield per hectare was 5,450 kg of wheat. According to preliminary data of the Ministry of Agriculture, the 2024 harvest will be between 6.1 and 6.3 million tonnes of wheat and over 800,000 tonnes of barley, said caretaker Agriculture Minister Georgi Tahov. For comparison, 6.5 million tonnes of wheat were harvested in 2023, which was 3.3% more than the previous year.

BNT’s morning programme focused on the upcoming harvest as well. Georgi Telkiev, a member of the Union of Grain Producers, said that this year’s yields will be satisfactory, since there were rains during the wheat growing season. The only fear is that certain growth phases passed too quickly because of the rapidly changing weather, which could play a negative role. Farmers said the costs amount to about BGN 200 per 01. hectare, which is why they hope that the purchase prices will be at least BGN 400 per tonne.

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Mediapool, 24 Chasa write that household electricity may increase in price from July 1 by more than the 1.39% calculated by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) . This will happen if electricity and natural gas prices continue to rise on the stock exchanges and if there is an additional change in the price-forming elements, commented Plamen Mladenovski, responsible for the regulation of electricity prices in the EWRC.

Mediapool writes that Bulgargaz's attempt to sell or cede for a fee its reserved annual capacity for unloading liquefied natural gas at Turkish terminals until 2036 has ended without success. In the two procedures that the state gas supplier announced in mid-May, six parties have shown interest, but none of them submitted a binding offer. Therefore, on Tuesday, the company announced new procedures with different and improved conditions for participation. Bulgargaz is trying to find suppliers to whom it can partially transfer its rights and obligations under the terms of the contract signed with BOTAS in 2023 by Galab Donev's caretaker government, which is extremely unfavourable for the Bulgarian company. The second procedure was to search for traders to provide the service of regasification of liquefied fuel in Turkiye, transfer and delivery to Bulgaria.

Trud reports that Bulgarian companies currently prefer to hire staff from Nepal, India and Bangladesh, as workers from these countries are much more disciplined than Ukrainians and Bulgarians, said during a forum at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and. There are already nearly 5,000 workers from Nepal and India in Bulgaria, some of them are employed in agriculture, others in construction and the food industry.