PRESIDENT PLEVNELIEV: “THE BULGARIAN PEOPLE REAFFIRMED THEIR PRO-EUROEPAN ORIENTATION”

“The Bulgarian nation reaffirmed its pro-European orientation”, President Rosen Plevneliev stated at a briefing on 30th May, in response to the results of the recent elections to the European Parliament.

The President said that the Bulgarian citizens showed again that disunion of the nation existed only in the minds of some political leaders. “Voter turnout is a challenge for all politicians”, he remarked. According to him, the political situation over the past year and the quality of the pre-election debate had an adverse impact on the turnout.

The Bulgarian citizens determine the rules, he noted and added that for the first time, the preferential voting option was largely used by voters and this was indicative that citizens prefered strengthened majority element in the voting system.

The Head of State expressed concerns over the problem with corporate vote, vote-buying and other forms of control over the free will of the citizens and called for legislative changes to intercept such practices.

The President promised he would continue to protect the interests of the citizens.

Plevneliev said he would not comment on the impact of the elections on the government, because this was not within the powers of the Head of State.

The parties represented in Parliament have their huge responsibility and the fate of the government is decided by the Parliament and the political parties in it, not by the President, he noted.

The President said he was ready to have conversations and consultations with all political parties on the topic of seeking solution to the political situation in the country, but underlined he would not get involved in political brokerage.

The Head of State expressed disappointment that for 5 months the ruling government had refused to discuss his proposal about a referendum on the electoral system in Bulgaria.