President Iliana Iotova on April 8 held a meeting with the institutions responsible for organising the upcoming elections, stressing that the process should proceed without violations and with clear guarantees that every vote will be counted accurately and manipulation will be allowed.
Eleven days before the elections, the President sought updates on the state of preparations and the measures in place to ensure a fair and transparent vote.
She also asked the caretaker Foreign Minister to clarify the reasons for requesting assistance from the European Commission in countering potential external interference in the electoral process.
President Iotova: “We have listened to a substantial part of your briefing, which focused on warnings and potential threats of hybrid attacks during the elections, as well as your request for assistance from the European Commission. I would ask you, in this forum, to state whether you have any observations on this matter at this stage—again, I stress, 11 days before election day—based on concrete evidence.”
Nadezhda Neynski said that safeguarding the elections is also a matter of national security for the government.
Nadezhda Neynski, caretaker Foreign Minister: “Information is a key factor and the only effective means of countering disinformation. Of course, when interference occurs—especially in a context of nearby and wider regional conflicts—the potential for influence should be limited, if not entirely prevented. Mrs President, within hours we will present you with the first report prepared by the team established to combat disinformation.”
Iliiana Iotova, President of the Republic of Bulgaria: “In your view, are there sufficient grounds at this stage for concern about such interference? And secondly, have you already submitted specific signals to the European Commission? One of the objectives we set for the caretaker government was to ensure maximum transparency in the electoral process, and Bulgarian citizens should be informed in a timely manner.”
Nadezhda Neynski, caretaker Foreign Minister: “Based on what I have read in the report, there are specific cases where we suspect external influence. You will be briefed on them, and I would reiterate that this is a natural response for any state seeking to safeguard its national security in a challenging situation such as elections held in a complex geopolitical environment.”
The caretaker Foreign Minister added that formal signals to the European Commission can only be submitted once both the National Assembly and the President have been informed, and where concrete evidence of external interference has been established.
Iliana Iotova, President of the Republic of Bulgaria: "We have to be, in my opinion, extremely careful not to create additional fears in people about this whole process."
The Central Election Commission said preparations for the upcoming vote are proceeding according to the approved timetable. Its chair, Kamelia Neykova, stressed that the commission will take a firm stance against practices that have caused problems in previous elections.
Kamelia Neykova, Chair of the Central Election Commission: “One such issue is the mass replacement of members of sectional election commissions by parliamentary parties and coalitions that had the right to make such proposals."
The Central Election Commission has instructed that, in Belitsa and Gabrovnitsa, those individuals who were involved in violations during previous elections and have been nominated again to count ballots, should be removed from the sectional election commissions.
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