The Initiative Committee, which nominated Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev for president and vice president, reported to the Central Election Commission for an alleged violation of the Election Code by Prime Minister Rumen Radev.
The report was signed by Vasil Stefanov, a proxy representing the initiative committee. The reason for this was Radev's statements in support of Iliyana Yotova, made after his participation in the seventh Sofia Economic Forum.
According to the report, the Prime Minister's words were distributed by the government press service, published on the official website of the Council of Ministers and shared on the institution's Facebook page. The initiative committee claims that Radev called on voters to support Yotova in the runoff on November 1, while at the same time criticizing her opponent Andrey Gyurov.
What violations are alleged
The petitioners emphasize that, in their opinion, the problem is not in the prime minister's right to express a political position, but in the use of official channels of a state institution to disseminate it.
The report lists two alleged violations - the ban on election campaigning in state institutions and offices and the ban on free use of public administrative resources for an election campaign.
According to the initiative committee, employees of the government press service and information channels supported by public funds were used to prepare and publish the materials. The submitters also claim that the publications present election messages as official government information.
What the initiative committee wants
The committee demands that the CEC order the immediate removal of the publications from the website and Facebook page of the Council of Ministers. It also requests that the officials who participated in their preparation and distribution be identified.
The signal requests actions to draw up acts of administrative violations against the Prime Minister and the responsible officials, as well as sending a copy to the Court of Auditors. The submitter insists that the case be considered within 24 hours due to the upcoming run-off and the day of reflection on October 31.
A decision of the CEC from 2016 on a complaint by the initiative committee, which then nominated Rumen Radev and Iliyana Yotova, is also cited as an argument. According to the submitter, the commission then accepted that the publication of election content on the official website of the Lovech municipality violated the ban on campaigning in state institutions.
Rumen Radev's statements
In his first comment after the presidential elections on October 25, Radev congratulated Iliyana Yotova on her result, expressed concern about the low voter turnout and called for support for her in the second round.
The Prime Minister presented the runoff as a choice "between democracy and the corruption model of the "assembly". He criticized the formations of the "assembly", the "Continuing the change - Democratic Bulgaria" and to Delyan Peevski.
According to Radev, the political opposition has discouraged some citizens from voting in the first round. He also rejected the interpretation that the minimal difference between Yotova and Gyurov indicates a decline in public support for the government, emphasizing that the presidential and parliamentary elections should not be equated.
According to information from NOVA, the CEC's chronogram provides for the campaign for the new election to begin after the candidates and the date of the runoff are determined and to end 24 hours before election day. A decision on the signal and the specific demands of the initiative committee have not been specified at this time.
Sources: nova.bg