National Meeting of Interior Ministry Discusses Organization of Oct. 27 Elections

Nikolay Zabov

From left: head of General Directorate Border Police Miroslav Rashkov, caretaker Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov, caretaker PM Dimitar Glavchev, caretaker Innovation Minister Rosen Karadimov, head of the State Agency for National Security Plamen Tonchev, Deputy Interior Minister Toni Todorov, Deputy Interior Minister Lyubomir Yosifov, Deputy Finance Minister Martin Danovski, Sofia, September 12, 2024 (BTA Photo/Milena Stoykova)

Sofia,

12.09.2024 13:53

(BTA)

The Interior Ministry held a national meeting here on Thursday to discuss the upcoming early parliamentary elections. Taking part were caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, Innovation and Growth Minister Rosen Karadimov, Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov, and representatives of the prosecution service and the State Agency for National Security.

Glavchev called on the Interior Ministry to be utterly uncompromising if they receive a signal of an attempt to rig the vote. The allegations that the Interior Ministry is conducting the elections are strange, Glavchev noted, adding that while the Ministry's role is very important, it is different from organizing the elections.

Glavchev said: "The Electoral Code spells out the duties that the executive has. Going beyond what the legislature has written should not be done. The organizer of the elections is the Central Election Commission (CEC)." He added that the bodies of the executive power are responsible for carrying out the material and technical support of the elections.

The Prime Minister said that while during elections there are allegations of buying and selling votes, however this scenario is present in the Penal Code, which is why if such cases come to be, the Interior Ministry acts in cooperation with the Prosecution Service.

Ilkov said that the most important task about the upcoming elections will be to guarantee the Bulgarians' political rights as much as possible. He added that he is confident that buying and selling of votes will be counteracted successfully.

Karadimov, the Government appointed coordinator of organizational and technical preparations for the elections, said that in order to restore confidence in the electoral process, the dialogue between the government and the CEC must be public, so that everyone's positions and responsibilities are clear.

Karadimov sent an official letter to CEC Chair Kamelia Neykova earlier Thursday, which lists the Cabinet's proposals to improve the rules and procedures to ensure a transparent, democratic and well-organized vote in the upcoming early parliamentary elections. At the CEC's discretion, the proposals may or may not be incorporated.

/DS/