The low turnout in the first round of the presidential elections should not automatically be interpreted as a failure of the citizens. This was stated by sociologist Kancho Stoychev in the bTV election studio.
According to initial exit poll data, about a quarter of voters went to the polls. At the same time, the difference between the first two candidates has narrowed to an almost equal result, after only a week earlier it exceeded 15 percentage points.
„We should not make a mistake that is always made when turnout is low - to scold people for not voting. "With a finger wagging is the worst and most incorrect way," said Stoychev.The sociologist admitted that he had expected low turnout, but not on such a scale. According to his calculations, about 1.5 million people probably went to the polls, compared to about 1.8 million he had previously expected.
Stoychev admits that some voters perceived the main political battle as already over and decided to reserve their participation for the second round. According to him, with low turnout, a highly mobilized group can gain a significant advantage.
„When everyone else is not mobilized, and one group is over-mobilized, it gains an advantage“, the sociologist explained.He also warned against hasty conclusions about the political situation in the country.
„We will be wrong if we start drawing general conclusions that the situation in the country has radically changed. No, nothing has radically changed“, Stoychev said.Different explanations for the low turnout
Journalist Natalia Dimitrova linked the low voter turnout to the fact that the candidates have not reached a large part of society. According to her, many people did not feel involved in the elections and did not receive answers to the questions they were interested in.
Dimitrova also drew attention to the sharp narrowing of the distance between the leading candidates. According to her, the events of the last 10 days have mobilized some groups of voters and led to an outflow of support from others.
Political scientist Hristo Panchugov took the opposite position and defined the low turnout as a fundamental event. He linked it to the absence of the main political formations from the active debate, the insufficient mobilization among the supporters of “Progressive Bulgaria“ and the election campaign itself.
“There is no point in pretending that something fundamental has not happened. "There has never been such a low voter turnout in the history of Bulgarian democratic elections, especially when it comes to national elections," Panchugov said.According to him, the main candidates did not have enough conversation about the role and powers of the president in the complex situation in the country. Panchugov also questioned the thesis that more candidates automatically mean better political representation.
The results are still based on exit polls, and a reversal is possible in the parallel count. The final outcome will be decided in the runoff.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg