BULGARIAN LAWMAKERS APPROVE ONLY ONE QUESTION FOR REFERENDUM – ELECTRONIC VOTING

On 28th of July, Bulgaria’s Parliament decided that the referendum on voting rules due to be held on the same day as the local government elections (25th of October) would include only one question out of the three proposed by Bulgaria’s President - whether electronic voting in elections and national referendums should be introduced.

The MPs rejected the other two questions - whether some MPs should be elected directly, through a majoritarian system, rather than from party lists and whether voting in elections and national referendums should to be made obligatory.

In practice the MPs did not take into account the declared will of 570,000 Bulgarians who last year signed a petition to initiate a referendum on electing some MPs on majoritarian basis, on compulsory and electronic voting.

Hours before the debates in Bulgaria’s Parliament, President Rosen Plevneliev personally presented his arguments for initiating a referendum. In a special address to the MPs, he pointed that the plebiscite was as equally important for the future of Bulgaria as was the judicial reform.

According to him, the decision on the referendum was crucial to the development of the democracy and the political system in Bulgaria and would provide greater legitimacy of the public power. He urged MPs to leave acute and unprincipled opposition in the past.

The referendum could contribute to more stability and confidence in the political system when initiated not by populist motives, but with honesty, in order that the people be heard on key issues, the President remarked. He said that politicians owed trust to the people and there was no reason to refuse them the right to decide on how to choose their representatives in Parliament.

The President presented in details his position on the three questions in the referendum proposal. He defended the majoritarian election of some MPs and noted that the mixed election system would keep the diversity of parties, but would enable people to vote for personalities.

The President added that the party of non-voters was growing. He noted that distances were irrelevant, given the development of modern technologies and that electronic voting could enable every Bulgarian to exercise the right to vote.

He praised the political parties on the high level of stability achieved in the state, on the ambition to carry out important reforms and on the agreement for changes to the Constitution. He expressed his hope that good intentions would be transformed into specific results.

The President said that the reasons for the big problems in the country were the judicial system and the election process and therefore, he would support deep and comprehensive changes.

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