site.btaSenior Officials, Party Leaders Vote in June 9 Elections

Exercising their voting right in the June 9 elections, Bulgarian statespersons and party leaders told reporters what they were voting for. Some of them cast their votes via paper ballots, others used a voting machine, but all of them voted in both the national and European Parliament elections.

National Assembly Deputy Chair Rossitsa Kirova told journalists she voted for "a peaceful, prosperous and stable Bulgaria in a safe Europe." She cast her ballot at the Exarch Antim I Natural Science and Mathematics High School in Vidin (on the Danube). "I voted for Vidin, for everything that we have started and must finish. I voted for the children of Vidin and Bulgaria. I voted to break the insane electoral spiral we are currently in. And most of all, I voted for the team of the knowledgeable and the capable," Kirova said, adding that such people should take the reigns of this country and bring some peace and quiet to all Bulgarians. 

Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said he voted "for a better Bulgaria, for joining Schengen on land soon and the eurozone next year."  After voting with a machine in the Ivan Vazov 5th Primary School in Sofia, he also told journalists: "I voted for politicians who respect the Constitution and the laws of the country, and are guided by the interests of the people in all their actions." He added that he hoped that a government, a stable parliament with a full mandate, and a regular government with a full mandate would be formed quickly to continue Bulgaria's path to a better future. Regarding the European Parliament elections, Glavchev said he hoped for an early entry into Schengen on land, and next year - the eurozone. This path has been chosen for Bulgaria by many governments back and should continue, the caretaker Prime Minister added.

President Rumen Radev told journalists: "Whether and under what conditions there will be a government depends entirely on the parties, and I hope they have learned their lesson - the hard lesson that they have to put public interests before their own." He voted via voting machine at Sofia's McGahan Vocational School of Transportation Systems. The refusal to protect national interests leads to undermining the credibility of institutions, the head of State added. According to him, this is the guarantee for a stable government. "I expect there to be concrete steps in this direction," he added. The refusal to defend the national interest inevitably leads to party and personal delegitimization, undermines the credibility of the institutions and the very foundations of the democratic process, President Radev said. Civic activism is not limited to showing up at the polls, the President said, adding that citizens should remember what politicians have promised and seek it. Before every election, party orators are scaring the public that the President will form a party, only so that they can then "better assemble their own assemblage", Radev said, referring to the previous powerholders from GERB-UDF, Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, whose joint rule is often times referred to as an "assemblage", which carries a negative connotation. He was answering a question whether he is ready to come on the political stage with a new project if a regular government is not formed. "It's high time the parties lead and form a government based on values, shared programmes, on the public interest being forward and leading, not out of fear of not being in power. But if they continue like this with unprincipled coalitions, sooner or later such an alternative will emerge," the head of State said. "The last few elections and "assemblages" have ruthlessly stripped the clothes of many parties and politicians, and they are now wondering how to hide their private parts," the President said. In all the elections, problems with [voting] machines appear somewhere, it is inevitable with so many devices, but machine voting is one barrier against the main problem in our elections - invalid ballots, Radev said. Whether the caretaker government had managed to organize the elections can be discussed after the election day was over, he noted.

Vice President Iliana Iotova told journalists she is not optimistic that there will be a government. She opted for machine voting at the John Atanasov Vocational School of Electronics in Sofia. “I’m definitely not optimistic. Especially given the behaviour of party leaders in today’s election day, of those who were in power until recently, but emotions are running high today and I hope that reason will prevail,” she said. Iotova expressed hope that there will be no snap elections for some time at least. "Let's not be bleak, but let's see how today will end," Iotova said and expressed hope that with her vote "there will be no more humiliating assemblages", referring to the previous powerholders, consisting of GERB-UDF, Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. She said she voted, hoping that the next government will be based on clear relationships between the political parties, a clear programme on what must be done in the coming months, because there is much do be accomplished. “Let’s not forget that today, we’re also voting for European Parliament. I voted for people who are well-prepared, who know what the Bulgarian interests are after 17 years [of Bulgaria being in the EU]. There were many alerts about influence trading and vote buying. There’s something incomplete here, as we did not find out in which party’s favour the vote-buying attempts were and how this would possibly influence the negotiations and the final results,” she said.

GERB leader Boyko Borissov said he voted for an end to "this cash in the last four years, to start fulfilling our promises to continue [building] the Struma, Hemus, Tarnovo-Ruse [motorways] and something stable, so that Bulgaria can return to the place it was and so that it voice can be heard once again." After casting his vote via paper ballots at the 78th Hristo Smirnenski Secondary School in Bankya, he also told journalists that his party's Mariya Gabriel will not take the government-forming mandate as a prime minister designate. "I could take it," he said in reply to a question, but added that the elections are not over yet and the results are yet to come out. He expressed doubt over the formation of a government given the statements by other parties' leaders on Sunday morning.  "We cannot [form a cabinet] only with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria cannot [form a cabinet] with GERB and the MRF, Vazrazhdane say, 't's us or no one else' - the math is missing in this case," he argued. "Perhaps we should focus more on the European elections, which are extremely important," he added. In his words, having new snap general elections would produce the same result as the current ones and would be a huge stupidity. "It would be right for them to return us the favour: a government of ours, we will give them one ministerial seat," Borissov said.

Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Korneliya Ninova said after casting her vote at the 25th Petar Beron Primary School in Sofia: "I voted for peace, for social justice, for an end to assemblages [a referrence to the previous powerholders], to deals made in the dark, and to the parallel state that rules over the legitimate one at the moment, to have order, stability for Bulgaria and security in every Bulgarian home." At the European elections, she said she voted for people for whom the Bulgarian interest stands first. In response to a question, Ninova explained that she had chosen to vote by paper ballot because she considered it more secure. She expects that the turnout will be slightly above the previous one in the last elections, saying that she draws this conclusion from her tours around the country. Higher turnout means higher legitimacy, the BSP leader said. According to her, after these elections everything possible should be done to have a cabinet because Bulgaria needs stability. "This political instability has many consequences for all of us, so I hope there will be reason and there will be a cabinet," Ninova added. In order to be successful and to last, the government must be non-partisan, expert, time-bound and programmatic, the BSP leader added. Asked whether the caretaker government is managing with organizing the elections, Ninova said that so far there were not many alerts from the morning, but during the campaign there were many signals of pressure and vote buying.

Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Delyan Peevski told journalists: "It is time for a stable government and not so many elections. This prevents the normal functioning of the State. You have seen before what the cycle of early governments has led to." He voted with a paper ballot at the P.R. Slaveykov Secondary School in Sofia. He expressed hope that politicians would have humility, that people would vote for a new beginning of Bulgaria and that there would be a stable government "so that Bulgaria can develop and the Bulgarian citizens can be at peace". Asked whether he thought people would manage with voting for the two elections, Peevski said there had been a good awareness campaign, expressing hope that the day would pass successfully.

Movement for Rights and Freedoms co-leader Dzhevdet Chakarov said he voted for "successful development and bridging the gap between regions in Bulgaria." He expressed hope that the people would choose the best future for this country. "I voted so that Bulgaria can take its rightful place in the European family. We can do it, we can defend our national interests in a united Europe if we are united," said Chakarov. He called on all eligible voters to come out and vote.

Movement for Rights and Freedoms Honorary Chairman Ahmed Dogan said he does not see "a lasting formula of power." He voted with a paper ballot at the 52nd Tsanko Tserkovski Primary School in Sofia. Dogan told "Dnevnik" that he could comment after the election results become clear. Answering questions, Dogan said that he does not believe there's need for his party to nominate a prime minister, nor does believe that Peevski and Chakarov will become prime ministers. 

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov told reporters: "I expect a victory for Bulgaria, I expect a victory for democracy, I voted for democracy and freedom of choice, which in recent years have been constantly and systematically taken away from the Bulgarian people."  He exercised his right to vote via a voting machine at the Stoyan Mihailovski Elementary School in Varna (on the Black Sea). He added that today he calls for only one thing - people to come out and vote if they do not want someone else to determine their fate, if they do not want Bulgaria to disappear because of the policies of people who report to foreign embassies and not to the Bulgarian people. Responding to a question about what the party's actions would be if it came second in the elections, Kostadinov said they would propose a government if the exploratory government-forming mandate came to them. The only mandate and the only government that Vazrazhdane will support is a government formed on their mandate, Kostadinov said.  

Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Kiril Petkov told journalists he voted "so that we do not betray the hope that Bulgaria can be a normal European country, where wealth is shared in a fair way, where we all have an equal start." "My fear today is that there is a risk of a large number of bought votes and a large number of corporate votes, which means that if all free Bulgarians do not turn out to vote, there is a risk that the future of our country could be determined by those [votes]," he said. He voted via a machine at the 133rd Alexander Pushkin Secondary School in Sofia. He added that Bulgaria will either be brought back to the time when some shady figures treated the country as their property, "or we will continue our way forward where we are slowly but surely becoming a normal country". "As long as the two of them - [Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Delyan] Peevski and [GERB leader Boyko ] Borissov, are in the position to make decisions, there is no point in negotiating or talking about anything, because we have seen that our vision of Bulgaria and their vision of Bulgaria are radically different. We will continue to fight for our vision of Bulgaria and I hope there are enough free Bulgarians who are pro-Europe and will come out to vote", Petkov said. He called on all Bulgarians, to whom their country is dear, to come out and vote. The biggest problem will be if people stay at home, he said, adding that the responsibility for this country is joint.

Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Assen Vassilev said he voted for Bulgaria and for the country to not be destroyed by spite and envy.  He specified that he voted both in the national and European parliament elections using a voting machine, because in that way his vote cannot possibly be declared invalid. Vassilev arrived at the polling station in Sofia earlier than announced, and no briefing with journalists was held. Petranka Kouzmanova from the party's headquarters said she herself did not know about the change in the initially announced schedule.

Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Hristo Ivanov urged Bulgarians to go out and vote and choose the least evil or whatever good they see. "Today the people are pronouncing themselves and I hope that all Bulgarian citizens understand that this can only happen today and it is very important to urge them to go out and vote, not to leave Bulgaria to its own devices and to go with the tide, because they will certainly not like that," Ivanov told journalists after voting at 93rd Alexander Teodorov-Balan Secondary School. If people stay home, they'll get twice the dose of what they dislike in Bulgarian politics, Ivanov said, calling on Bulgarians to go out and cast their ballot. "At the parliamentary elections I voted for having a majority for a normal European Bulgaria, which means to continue forward with the reforms and development forward not turn back and towards the East. In the European elections, I voted to send people to the European Parliament of whom we will not be ashamed. In simple terms, I voted for not leaving Bulgaria in the hands of Peevski," Ivanov said. Responding to a question on whether the coalition was ready to negotiate after the elections with GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Ivanov said there was no option for negotiations with the MRF, while GERB have "burned all possible points of contact over the last months".  He expressed hope that a way would be found to avoid new elections in the autumn.