site.btaVazrazhdane Leader Welcomes Adoption of Party’s Proposed Election Code Changes

In an interview with bTV on Thursday, Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov said that his party was pleased that its proposal for Election Code amendments had been adopted.   

On Wednesday, the parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs adopted Vazrazhdane’s bill proposing amendments to the Election Code at first reading. The bill provides for the opening of up to 20 voting sections in non-EU countries outside Bulgarian diplomatic and consular missions.

“One of the illnesses of our contemporary sham democracy is that we talk about fair elections, yet no one asks whether the elections our State conducts in Turkiye are fair,” Kostadinov said. In his words, some 50,000 people voted there in the most recent elections, while fewer than 33,000 voted in all other non-EU countries combined.

Kostadinov said that the only countries affected by this restriction are the United Kingdom and the United States. ”If voting sections located at consulates and embassies are taken into account, and if voter turnout from the previous elections is considered, it becomes clear that there is no problem,” he added.

Asked whether Bulgarian National Bank Deputy Governor Andrey Gurov is a suitable candidate for caretaker prime minister, Kostadinov said that Gurov would be the most logical choice under ”the current political philosophy of the President's Office.” The Vazrazhdane leader added that Gurov has no ties to Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski and is the only alternative.

On Wednesday, Gurov said that he was ready to serve as caretaker prime minister. ”I am ready to take the responsibility, if this were to happen following clear principles and no hidden conditions,” he told reporters after his meeting with President Iliana Iotova as part of the caretaker cabinet appointment procedure.

“It is logical to ask why the appointment of a caretaker government is still being delayed. I find this completely suspicious,” Kostadinov said.

“The job of a caretaker government is to conduct fair and free elections. For that to happen, the Interior Ministry must do its job and prevent large-scale vote-buying,” he added.