site.btaVelichie: Central Election Commission Is Complicit in Vote Rigging, Elections Must Be Annulled

Krasimira Katincharova, who was an MP of Velichie in the 50th National Assembly, said that the October 27 snap parliamentary elections must be annulled, adding that the Central Election Commission (CEC) is complicit in vote rigging and, through its action or inactions, has violated the fundamental principles of democracy. Katincharova was speaking at a news conference at BTA’s National Press Club here on Monday.

She said that, contrary to its own decision, the CEC failed to take measures to prevent the mass replacement of members of section election commissions on polling day. She cited the Black Sea city of Varna as an example, where, according to her, 419 polling stations saw partial or complete replacements. Katincharova said that these changes had been orchestrated by three political forces - GERB-UDF, MRF-New Beginning, and Vazrazhdane, adding that complaints from displaced committee members had been ignored by the CEC.

Katincharova noted that CEC had failed to address complaints submitted electronically on polling day, even though it had previously accepted electronic registration for MRF-New Beginning. She argued that, as a result, hundreds of complaints had been left unresolved. "Velichie alone submitted 170 complaints and alerts to the CEC, but we have not received a single response or even a reference number," she added.

Nikolai Pankov, who is part of Velichie’s legal team, said that the CEC is legally required to provide video surveillance in all polling stations across the country. However, the party found out that there had been no CCTV at over 500 polling stations.

He added that the CEC had excessively stocked the ballot paper storage depots, far exceeding the legal limits. Pankov said that the Election Code allows for ballots to exceed the population of a given area by up to 10%, adding that the CEC had sent 9,000 ballots to an election district with just 150 people.

Katincharova called on the members of the CEC to resign as an act of integrity". She added that her party would present evidence to acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov and had already taken steps to inform European institutions and embassies in the country. She said that there will be a rally outside the European Commission in Brussels on November 29, when Bulgarians will raise awareness about the situation in this country.

The Velichie party further announced that they are developing an interactive map to document election violations by polling stations nationwide.