Civil association "Saedinenie" sent to the responsible institutions an open letter prepared by the lawyer Rumyana Chenalova. Within 30 pages, the association informs the president, the acting prime minister and the people's representatives of a number of open violations during the entire election process.
"Appalling violations are discovered even during the creation of the electoral lists, the formation of the electoral sections, the illegal changes of members of the section commissions from their formation to the election day itself, etc.,' the lawyer told the BNR and analyzed each of them in a row:
"Electoral lists are drawn up at a permanent address by the municipal administrations in the respective settlement. The population of Bulgaria, according to official data of the NSI, is decreasing, with the death rate exceeding the birth rate. In 2017, the population of Bulgaria was 7,500,0034 people, with 15% of them under the age of 18. That is, the number of voters is about 6 million. In 2024, the population is about 6.5 million, with just over 5 million voters. However, it turns out that instead of decreasing, electoral divisions are increasing. This is a direct consequence of the way the lists are made. They are not updated, deceased citizens are not deleted."
The formation of electoral divisions also happens in a controversial way:
"I mean that for every 1000 people, one section should be formed and if there is a remainder, additional ones are formed. For at least the last 10 years, this rule has not been followed. I give an example with the Municipality of Kardzhali, where 157 electoral divisions were formed, and the population of the municipality, according to the NSI, is 146,562 people – we are talking about the number of population, not the number of voters. From this population should be deducted a minimum of 10% who are under the age of 18, i.e. the voters who are entered in the lists are thousands less, and the polling stations should be formed on the basis of the number of voters, not on the basis of the population."
The increased number of polling stations leads to an increase in the number of electoral commissions.
"This burdens the budget, but the important thing is that through these people, in sections where 200-250 people vote, representatives of each of the parliamentary parties are appointed – explains Adv. Chenalova. – Thus, for about 200 people, there are 7 committee members, each of its members exercising political influence through the parties they represent. In Bulgaria, instead of having 5 or 6 thousand sections, there are 12 thousand – thus allowing manipulations in the reporting of election results."
Changing members of sectional election commissions from their formation to the election day itself was also a practice in the past elections – pointed out Rumyana Chenalova and gave an example of the commissions in Varna, which are 460 in number, and shifts have been made in 419 of them:
"The replacement of a member of the CEC is admissible on the condition that he dies, falls ill, does not appear on election day, commits a violation of an order or decision of the CEC or the CEC, for which he is punished and on this basis he be released. It is absolutely inadmissible to change a member of the SEC at the will of the political party he represents. There are many decisions appealed by the suspended members themselves. For each of them, the CEC says that as soon as the party has requested, the relevant member will be replaced. However, in other decisions, the CEC says that the complaints are well-founded, which means they should be reinstated. After that, the CEC members vote and do not accept such a decision."
The lawyer also commented on the need for the creation of a multi-mandate electoral district "Foreign Country" so that the votes of our compatriots abroad can have the same weight as those at home. Here is the current situation:
"On the basis of all the actual ballots, which also include the votes from abroad, the 4 percent limit is determined and it is decided which parties will find a place in the parliament. After that, the mandates of each of these parties in the respective multi-mandate constituencies are calculated, and since there is no MIR Foreign, the votes given there are not taken into account, but are distributed proportionally to the entire territory – Chenalova explained and added: – If MIR Žujbina is established, Bulgarians there will be able to make proposals for candidates for people's representatives, including independents. Its creation will cut off the possibility of manipulations. Also, their votes will not be lost."
As for the expected decisions of the Constitutional Court in the cases of restoration of the powers of the president in the appointment of a caretaker government and whether a partial counting of the votes in the country is permissible, Rumyana Chenalova is categorical that with good will, the constitutional judges can to rule on them by the end of January.