site.btaUPDATED PACE's Heer: Persistently Low Voter Turnout Points to Collapsed Confidence in Electoral Process

Alfred Heer, head of a 16-member delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which was here from October 25 to 28 to observe the early parliamentary elections on October 27, told a press conference here on Monday that the persistently low voter turnout is a sign of a collapse in the confidence of Bulgarians in the electoral process. Heer praised the electoral administration for the good organization.

The PACE representative stated the Bulgaria's political system is in crisis, as traditional parties are eroding and going through political fragmentation, while populist movements are enjoying rising popularity. He noted that politicians should try to fix the broken link with the electorate.

According to Heer, the frequent change of caretaker governments benefits certain political leaders. Lawmakers and politicians should consider changes to the electoral system that could contribute to the formation of stable governments, he added.

Regarding the election campaign, the PACE delegation is deeply concerned about the recurring allegations of vote-buying and controlled voting, which have become even more intense over the latest elections. The PACE delegation did not witness serious election violations, mostly because the delegation was unable to send observers anywhere for an extended period of time, said Heer. He proposed that state institutions should investigate allegations of vote buying and controlled voting and added that the setting up of a hotline and implementation of other measures by the Ministry of Interior are good measures. The higher number of alerts and visibly higher activity in sensitive areas show that there is an urgent need for further solutions and measures, the PACE representative said.

Heer said the election campaign was weak and was conducted mostly on social media and, only to a certain extent, using traditional means in villages. A growing number of candidates are choosing to manage their own political communication by bypassing professional journalists, Heer stressed, which is a worrying trend related to the quality of information reaching voters.

The use of machines on election day raises the question of whether they add any value to the electoral process, the observer said. Despite the benefits of using technology more, the role of voting machines, as it currently stands, has led to more bureaucratic procedural steps, and thus increased the potential for errors in precinct records, Heer said.

PACE has been sending election observation missions to Bulgaria since 1990. The PACE team for these elections included 11 parliamentarians from nine countries, two representatives of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and three members of the Secretariat who have participated in previous observation missions. The localities observed on Sunday were Sofia, Pernik, Blagoevgrad, Dupnitsa, Montana, Rila, Lovech, Vratsa, Etropole, Barzia, Sredets.