The Constitutional Court assigned the CEC to recalculate the results of the elections for the 51st National Assembly, after a discrepancy was found in 47% of the 2,204 verified protocols of sections.
„20 experts independently of each other, using a common methodology, established that there was a discrepancy in a huge number of sections between what was recorded in the protocol and what was available in the bags. It became clear that for some sections there were no bags at all. The experts compiled tables with data after their counting. These tables were provided to the CEC. The Commission and the „Information Service“ will re-enter this data. We expect them to say – here, here is the mistake“.
This was told to bTV by Stoil Tsitselkov from the Association for Fair Elections – ОЧИ.
„At this stage, I do not know what result we can expect. This ruling of the Constitutional Court is only a stage in establishing the truth. It is recorded by the Constitutional Court that there is a large number of discrepancies between valid and invalid ballots. The speculation is that invalid ballots were considered valid. The threshold (for entering the National Assembly – ed. note) may also change, so that „Majesty“ even if they find 100 votes, they won't get in.“
According to him, the CEC could come up with a decision that since there is a discrepancy in 47% of 2,204 sections, it is reasonable to assume that there is a discrepancy in the rest of the sections in the country.
„When it comes to establishing the exact number of votes, preferences, and distribution of mandates, I, as a citizen, would expect them to request a check of the remaining 11,000 sections. If this is not done, there will always be doubt in society. Unfortunately, I don't think that this CEC will do such a thing“, Tsitselkov pointed out.
„If it's a matter of one or two votes, it may turn out that these are human errors that don't have much of an impact on the final result. It may turn out that they do. The big question here is why the CEC and the “Information Service“ announced final results in which there is a party with 3.9999%, when it comes to 21 votes and they knew there was a discrepancy. Good practice would be to request a re-introduction. This is not unusual. This is mandatory in many countries where I work as an election observer. In Bulgaria, a second check is also done, but a completely new entry is done in many countries, especially with a small difference.“
“To restore trust, maximum transparency is needed. What do we expect? The table provided by the Constitutional Court to the CEC to become public as soon as possible, so that we can see as soon as possible whether there will be any rearrangements. If it is established whether there is an rearrangement, the court will determine whether there will be a partial annulment of the elections. I would find it difficult to imagine going to a complete annulment, new elections or a complete recount. I believe that as a result of this new introduction by the “Information Service“ it will be seen whether there is a discrepancy. After that, the Constitutional Court will decide how to proceed“.
The Constitution has foreseen such scenarios, the election expert specified.
“The decisions of the 51st National Assembly are legitimate. It has happened in other countries. In order to avoid speculation, everything must happen faster. The long stay in this “gray zone“ gives people who speculate unkindly an opportunity. I call for all data to be made public as soon as possible“.
What needs to change in the electoral process to increase trust in the electoral process?
Tsitselkov commented that the parties do not imagine a different system in organizing and conducting the elections.
“The entire administration is appointed by the status quo, by the parties that entered parliament on a certain date. All new proposals from the parties do not envisage a different scheme. They do not imagine another way. We see that the problem is not with technology, but with unprepared representatives that the parties send. Now the parties are proposing a new game with the creation of computing centers, optical scanners in the electoral commissions. This has been proven not to increase trust. They can automatically clear errors, just as the machines eliminated invalid votes – they just ban them, but that won't make people more prepared, won't make them turn on the cameras, and won't find the lost bags. We're talking about criminal and administrative liability and the possibility of civil control“.
“The parties still even write in their motivation that they are changing the rules in a way that they believe will be better for their outcome. We, the citizens, need to take the law out of the hands of the parties and have it serve all citizens. It is a vicious practice for 10-15% of society, who are represented in the ruling coalition, to decide such a complex issue for everyone else“, said Stoil Tsitselkov from OCHI.