“You are the last to take part in these consultations, as the smallest parliamentary political force. But the voice of every party, of every MP, matters. You sit at the very back and at the highest point in the plenary chamber and have a panoramic view of the work in the chamber, which at times turns into a 'gladiator arena'.” (apparently referring to the kicks and fist blows in Parliament's plenary chamber on Wednesday as two MPs clashed. The cameras showed MP Gyunay Daloolu of 'MRF - New Beginning' and Radostin Vassilev of MECh exchange angry remarks, then Vassilev kicked the approaching Daloolu in the chest and also threw a first to punch him but missed. Other MPs intervened to keep them apart.)
With these words, President Rumen Radev addressed representatives of the party 'Velichie', who attended the final round of consultations on forming a new government at the presidential institution on December 19.
The head of state asked them if there was still life in this National Assembly and if they would commit to working to establish a new governing configuration within this Parliament.
“You also made significant efforts to expose the manipulations in the most recent parliamentary elections, which prevented you from taking the seat you were entitled to in the 51st National Assembly. So, based on this experience of yours, what do you believe can and should be done to increase trust in the electoral process?” President Radev asked.
“We may be a small parliamentary group, and we may have been present for the shortest time in this National Assembly, but that is because we are the most active. Our position is the best – we are positioned at the very top, not at the back, and we can see everything that is happening. Moreover, we deliberately take actions to provoke responses and observe how the authorities react. We are not politicians who have grown up in a political environment. We see that this environment is not fit for living, and that is precisely why we decided to intervene in a system we can see is not working,” said Velichie leader Ivelin Mihaylov.
According to Mihaylov, the National Assembly has lacked legitimacy since its very beginning, because, as established by the Constitutional Court, manipulations were found in 47% of the polling stations examined.
“We reviewed video footage from 6,000 polling stations and identified blatant violations in 50% of them. If the public is to have any confidence that something is genuinely being done in its interest, this video surveillance should subsequently carry legal weight when criminal liability is sought for tampering with voters’ will. This is the first thing that should change – video surveillance should constitute 100% admissible evidence, so that those involved know they are playing with the fate of an entire nation,” Mihaylov said.
At the end of the consultations with the parliamentary parties, President Rumen Radev stated that trust in the 51st National Assembly had been exhausted, dialogue had collapsed, and early parliamentary elections were now on the horizon.
“Urgent action is required to restore trust in the electoral process, which has been severely compromised. As a result of manipulation, an entire party such as Velichie was prevented from taking the seat it was rightfully entitled to in the National Assembly. I expect the parties to honour the commitments they made during the consultations and to undertake the necessary legislative measures to minimise the subjective factor in voting and vote counting. This means 100% machine voting, with electronic reporting of results and a control count of paper receipts,” the head of state emphasised.
photos by Dessislava Kulelieva, BNT
The President said he would hand over the first mandate to form a government after the New Year.
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