site.btaMECh Leader Vasilev Says Election Code Amendments Should Not Be Included in Parliament's Next Week Agenda

The amendments to the Election Code should not be included on the agenda at all next week, Morality, Union, Honour (MECh) leader Radostin Vasilev told journalists in Parliament on Friday. He said the code needs very major changes, but not by the current majority. Parliament failed to hold a sitting on Friday as a quorum was not reached in any of the three registration attempts.

According to Vasilev, the lack of quorum in Parliament for two consecutive days is due to “the fear of [GERB-UDF Floor Leader Boyko] Borissov” and a “split within the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)”. “This is happening because of Borissov’s fear - he has pulled out five or six people so they do not enter the chamber - and because in BSP, perhaps after the government fell, there is some kind of split. You can see it, colleagues from BSP are shouting at each other inside,” the MECh leader said.

“But here we see the arrogance of There Is Such a People,” he commented. “They are forcing the [amendments to the Election] code by constantly putting it on the agenda in an attempt to somehow punish Borissov,” Vasilev said. “The handbrake is being pulled by Borissov, because he knows this causes tension in society, because they have no legitimacy whatsoever, and because we should be heading to elections sooner rather than later, while they are trying to secure some sort of default win,” he added.

According to Vasilev, if these counting devices and scanners are introduced, there will be complete chaos at election time.

Asked about Bulgaria’s accession to the Board of Peace under the patronage of U.S. President Donald Trump, the MECh leader commented that the outgoing Prime Minister has no mandate to represent Bulgaria at any forums. “The outgoing President did well not to go,” he added. “In my view, Bulgaria’s position should have been: ‘We have political instability in the country. We need a government with a clear horizon and a majority that can take such a position,’” Vasilev said. As an argument, he also pointed to the uncertainty over whether Bulgaria would have to make a financial contribution. “If after three years they tell us, ‘Now pay,’ and we withdraw, it looks very pathetic and ridiculous,” he said.

Regarding the ratification of Bulgaria’s accession to the Board of Peace, he said the MECh group’s decision will be to abstain in the vote.

Asked what comes next after Rumen Radev’s departure from the presidency, the MECh leader expressed hope that the new president, Iliana Iotova, would find a caretaker prime minister as quickly as possible, so that the country does not remain in the current situation in Parliament, where no work is being done and everyone is waiting to see how far a possible Radev project might go.

“We view Rumen Radev and his future project as a possible partner,” Vasilev said. He added that he would take part in a majority to elect a Supreme Judicial Council, replace the Central Election Commission, replace the Prosecutor General, and introduce major changes to the Election Code. “Changing the code quickly, within a month or two, and holding new elections is also a plan we are considering and is possible,” he added.

Radostin Vasilev also said that MECh will run independently in the upcoming elections.