„Democratic Bulgaria“ demanded resignations of members of the Central Election Commission after the CEC found no violation of the Election Code in the call by Prime Minister Rumen Radev to support Iliana Yotova. The decision was adopted on October 28 with eight votes „for“ and seven „against“. In parallel, the Initiative Committee of Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev appealed it to the Supreme Administrative Court.
The case is related to a statement by the Prime Minister on October 26, distributed through the Government Information Service, the official website of the Council of Ministers and the institution's Facebook page. „Democratic Bulgaria“ points out that 105 reports were filed in the case, but the commission refused to comment on the substance of the call's distribution through state communication channels.
DB accused the CEC of political dependence
“There is a new alliance between “Progressive Bulgaria“ and “Vazrazhdane“ and their members in the CEC must resign,“ said the co-chairman of “Yes, Bulgaria“ Bozhidar Bozhanov.
According to him, the CEC should not be an extension of the executive branch, but should guarantee the fairness of the elections. MP from the State Duma Alexandra Sterkova stated that members of the commission tried to avoid considering the report on its merits by proposing a ruling in a letter, which, in her opinion, is not subject to subsequent judicial control.
Sterkova also pointed out other signals, including the alleged involvement of children in the campaign of Iliana Yotova, which, according to her, the CEC had referred to other institutions. “We will not tolerate refusal to fulfill the obligations of controlling the election rules“, she stated.
The committee wants the publication to be removed
The initiative committee of Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev has filed an appeal against the CEC's decision No. 422-PVR of October 28. It disputes the conclusion that the statement was made before the start of the runoff campaign and outside a state institution. According to the committee, the fact that the prime minister is not a candidate does not exclude the possibility that the call for support for a certain candidate constitutes election campaigning.
The committee has also submitted a new signal to the CEC, requesting that it be verified why the publication continues to be available on the website of the Council of Ministers after the start of the campaign for the second round. According to the senders, the campaign began on October 27 at 7:40 p.m., and the call "Let's vote for Iliana Yotova" remained published after that moment.
The signal demands that the CEC establish whether there is a violation, order the removal of the publication, and verify which officials are responsible for its publication and maintenance. It has also been requested to verify the use of a public resource. The complaint to the Supreme Administrative Court was filed through the Central Election Commission on October 29 with the incoming number PVR-09-1612, and the new signal is with the number PVR-09-1613.
The Central Election Commission has sent the question of the possible use of public resources to the Court of Accounts. However, the initiative committee insists that the committee also consider the distribution of the appeal itself. They are asking for a ruling from there within 24 hours due to the approaching day of reflection and the runoff in the presidential elections on November 1. “The state is not an election headquarters“, the committee states.
Sources: dariknews.bg