The Central Election Commission fulfills its obligations when the National Assembly decides to hear it, Deputy Chairperson and Spokesperson of the CEC Rositsa Mateva told BTV.
“Ultimately, when the National Assembly decides that an authority should be heard, we are obliged to respond“, she said on the occasion of the committee's hearing in parliament.
According to her, the preparations for the elections are going according to schedule. “We are moving well with the deadlines. Normally, the relevant decisions are adopted before the deadlines expire“, Mateva explained. She specified that the executive public procurement for the machine voting is about to be announced.
„These machines will be provided to the Ministry of Electronic Governance, the Institute of Metrology and Standardization, for certification of compliance, as is done before each election“, she also said. According to her, the preparation of the election process is going normally and on time.
Mateva also commented on the allegations about the expired warranty period of the voting machines. According to her, this is not a problem for their functioning.
„Of course it is not a problem. I have said it many times and I will say it again. The warranty period of a device that is purchased – for example a computer – is the period in which the supplier repairs or overhauls the respective device at its own expense“, she stated.
The Deputy Chairman of the CEC recalled that the warranty on the machines is three years and has expired, since they were purchased in 2021.
“The warranty period on all machines has expired, because it is three years. This does not mean that they cannot work, because we do not stop using computers, telephones, televisions and any other equipment after the warranty period expires“, Mateva pointed out.
She added that the machines are the property of the state. “The state is now responsible, if one is damaged, to repair it at its own expense.“
According to her, the machines continue to be stored in a rented warehouse, since the state has not provided its own premises.
“For five years, the state, under different governments, could not find a premises that would meet the requirements to place the machines in a state warehouse“, said Mateva.
She added that if land had been provided, a warehouse could have been built in that time and funds could have been saved. “Rent is currently being paid“, she emphasized.
The Deputy Chairman of the CEC also explained how security is ensured when preparing the machines for the elections. “Only persons who have been previously checked by the Ministry of Interior and the National Security Agency of the Republic of Bulgaria have access and are allowed only with the permission of the Central Election Commission. The warehouse is continuously, 24/7 guarded by the Ministry of Interior.“
Mateva announced that the commission has already approved the ballot book, with minor changes made to reduce errors in filling it out.
„We have slightly moved some of the columns and fields. For example, in the places where the actual votes for parties and coalitions will be filled in, the serial number in the ballot will be written as it is written on the ballot“, she explained.
According to her, changes have also been made in the organization of the election materials. „We noted that the municipal administrations had provided two white sacks in the previous elections. Now we have determined that it will be white for the ballot books, and for the other materials – black, so that the section election commissions do not make mistakes.“
Mateva also commented on the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria to partially annul the previous elections. According to her, the main reason was the lack of ballots in several sections.
„For these seven, for which the ballots were not found in the bags, the Constitutional Court accepted that the result for these parties and coalitions is 0. And in fact, this is the main reason for this shift“, she explained.
According to her, the commission has analyzed the court's decision and is taking measures to reduce errors. „All decisions of the CEC are currently adopted in such a way as to minimize errors.“
Mateva also commented on the information about a meeting convened by Borislav Sarafov between institutions related to the organization of the elections. “We did not hear about such a meeting, we were not invited. Now I understand from you“, she said.
The Deputy Chairman of the CEC also pointed out that the commission had filed reports with the prosecutor's office after previous elections.
“We are obliged to file reports after each election for those who voted in violation of the election rules, but in addition, we have also filed reports for those section commissions for which, in our opinion, there is evidence of a crime from the video surveillance“, she said.
According to her, some of the proceedings initiated were subsequently suspended.