How can the complicated case with the registration of the two factions of the DPS be resolved – of Dogan and Peevski, for the upcoming elections on October 27… Alexander Andreev, former chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), spoke to FAKTI.
- Mr. Andreev, what are we observing during the registration related to DPS for the upcoming elections. For the first time, deputies almost sleep in the parliament to keep order?
- Specifically, I cannot comment on the actions of party representatives, because this is a political issue. Of course, the fact that the Central Electoral Commission does not have an independent building must be taken into account, and the reception of documents takes place in the building of the National Assembly. In this regard, all MPs have access to the building, who can enter freely through the entrances with their MP cards. The place where documents are accepted is the vestibule of the staircase leading to the plenary hall. The deputies also move there. So every single representative can freely go to the place where the CEC accepts the applications.
- I am asking you because MPs obstructed the work of the CEC?
- There was such a thing, because deputies stood at the place where the CEC accepts the documents, but I want to draw attention to the fact that there is no way to limit the possibility for the people's representatives to move and reach the desk where the documents are accepted. It is good to make one more clarification. On the one hand, the CEC made significant mistakes when creating an organization and accepting applications, but on the other hand, it should be taken into account that the CEC is not protected by the National Security Service (NSS). I say this because questions have been raised as to why the NSOs did not intervene. The NSO does not guard the CEC, the NSO guards the building of the National Assembly. The Law on NSO explicitly states which persons and which buildings are under the protection of the service. And there is no way for the NSO to intervene in relation to people's representatives who have access to the building itself. However, this does not exclude the fact that under the circumstances thus created, the CEC should have adopted a certain order and in some way created a more normal situation in order to reduce the tension by accepting the applications, and later to rule on them. By itself, the submission of an application by a party or coalition does not mean registration.
- The CEC was somehow unprepared because it was known that two factions of one party – in the case of DPS, they will seek registration. And after hours, the CEC made the Solomonic decision to accept the documents of both factions, but without an incoming number….
- I can't answer that question. He is among the members of the CEC. In any case, the members of the CEC on duty should have accepted all the documents and entered them in the register from the very beginning, and those already entered and accepted should have examined them and decided whether they correspond to the rules in the Election Code. Respectively, the CEC should decide whether to accept both applications, whether to reject them, or to give instructions for correcting any gaps or irregularities. This did not happen, which created further tension and prevented other election participants who wanted to submit their documents from doing so. There were parties waiting for the registration to start.
- We see that both factions in the DPS want the abbreviation to be present in the name of the coalition. According to the law, this is not possible. What is the way out?
- The problem is that DPS – as a political entity, it cannot participate in two coalitions. Here I make the clarification that this is if we correctly understood what documents were entered in the CEC. However, we have no original documents before us. One and the same party simply cannot – in the case of DPS, to participate in two coalitions. So we will expect the CEC to adopt its reasoned decisions and accept, reject or give directions if there are gaps.
However, if DPS withdraws as a political entity from one coalition, but gives consent to another political party to register, there is no problem.
In this case, we now have DPS as a party with declared participation in two coalitions, represented by the various representatives in the party. If one DPS refuses to be part of a coalition and changes its name, then registration can proceed. It's just that the DPS should not be present as a political force in one of the coalitions. In other words, one party participating in two coalitions is inadmissible, because it gives a different start to the participants in the elections.
- How likely is this case to go to court? There is no time for one of the two entities in DPS to register a new party…
- The case may go to court after the CEC issues a decision. Only then can one of the subjects appeal the registration or refusal of registration.
In this case, the Supreme Administrative Court is competent, which must render a final decision within three days from the submission of the complaint.
In order to register a party, the law requires the fulfillment of various conditions. A founding meeting of a certain number of persons must be held, there must be members, the documents must be submitted to the Sofia City Court, which will rule in a public hearing with the participation of a prosecutor. All these conditions require a technical minimum of time, which is much longer than the one we have until the elections. So there is no way at the moment to register another political entity with a similar name from the supporters of one of the wings in the DPS. The only possibility remains, if the registration of a given coalition is refused, to use another political force as a mandate holder, which will register and bet on the lists of the DPS.