The parliamentary group of “Vazrazhdane“ proposes amendments to the Election Code, whereby the verification of signatures for registration of parties, coalitions and initiative committees would cover all entries in the lists, and not just part of them. The proposal concerns the elections for members of parliament, president and vice president, and members of the European Parliament.
During the verification, the protocol will indicate the total number of voters for whom correct entries have been established in the entire submitted list. This number will also be used when determining whether a party, coalition or initiative committee must reimburse the funds received for a media package.
The media package will depend on the actual votes
According to the bill, the recipient of the media package will have to reimburse the state budget for the full amount actually paid if, in the relevant election, it receives fewer actual votes than the number of voters who supported its registration with a correct signature.
In the case of an initiative committee, the signatures for the registration of the independent candidate it nominated will be taken into account. For candidates for president and vice president, the signatures in support of the registration of the respective candidate pair will be taken into account. The number of those who supported the registration will be determined after checking all entries, regardless of the minimum number of signatures required for registration.
Different order for the three types of elections
In elections for members of parliament, all valid votes for the party or coalition's candidate lists in the country and abroad will be counted. In presidential elections, the valid votes for the nominated candidate pair in the first ballot will be counted.
For the elections for the European Parliament, the valid votes for the party or coalition's list, as well as the votes for an independent candidate, cast in the country and abroad, will be taken into account.
The CEC will determine the amount of the obligation
The Central Election Commission will have to establish within 60 days of the announcement of the election results whether there is an obligation to restore the media package. The decision will indicate the number of verified correct entries, the actual votes, the amount paid and the amount of the obligation.
Before the decision, the affected persons will be notified and will have 14 days to object. After that, the decision will be communicated to the obligated persons and published, and the personal data of the voters who supported the registration will be deleted.
„The purpose of the changes is to limit the abuse of personal data and public funds and to increase trust in the electoral process“, the submitters state in the explanatory memorandum to the bill.
Sources: Focus