Nine presidential candidate pairs received less than 2,500 votes in the first round of the elections on October 25. The data are from the official results of the Central Election Commission. The threshold of 2,500 votes coincides with the minimum number of signatures required to register an independent candidacy for president and vice president.
Ivo Lulchev and Stefan Popov received the least support - 1,132 votes. They are followed by Boris Anzov and Branimir Michev with 1141 votes, as well as Lachezar Avramov and Ivaylo Atanasov with 1165 votes.
Iskra Nedeva and Stoyan Rumenov Georgiev received 1214 votes, and Velichka Nedelcheva Georgieva and Rosen Ignatov Ivanov – 1397. Metodi Veselinov Bachvarov and Lenin Velinov Stanoev collected 1563 votes, while Kamen Zahariev Taskov and Galya Dimitrova Ivanova received 1758.
Closer to the 2500 mark are the results of Boyan Boyanov Stankov Rasate and Yordan Stoyanov Manasiev – 2321 votes, and of Nako Raynov Stefanov and Nina Petkova Lambova – 2460 votes.
Signatures are not a commitment to vote
The difference between the number of signatures for registration and the number of votes does not constitute a violation of the election rules. The signature in support of the candidacy does not oblige the voter to subsequently vote for the same candidates, and the law does not set a minimum threshold of votes for valid participation in the vote.
The CEC stipulates that independent candidates for president and vice president must be supported by at least 2500 voters upon registration. This requirement applies to admission to the elections, not to the result after the vote.
Right to a media package
The initiative committees that nominated the nine couples are among the participants entitled to public funding for media coverage of the campaign. The value of one media package is 20,451.68 euros including VAT. The Central Election Commission specifies:
„The funds for the media packages are at the expense of the state budget.“
The money is intended for paid forms of election campaigning and coverage in the media, and is not freely provided for personal use by the candidates or members of the initiative committees. The mere right to a media package does not mean that its entire amount has been used. The funds actually spent can only be established through a separate report on the reported funding.
Sources: darik.bg