Alexander Andreev is the new chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), FOCUS reported. His candidacy was supported by 119 MPs, and 59 voted against it.
Andreev was nominated for the post by the Federation of Independent Student Associations, but was also recognized by GERB. The other parties did not nominate their candidates to replace the resigned Stefka Stoeva and because of that he was the only participant in the race.
During the last term of the CEC, Alexander Andreev took part in its work after a proposal by the BSP, and now only the MPs from the left voted against him, as well as the six people who left her a few days ago.
The BSP also demanded answers to several questions addressed to Andreev:
„Is there a need for more changes in the Electoral Code?“ Exactly how many machines will the CEC take? Will they be rented or bought? How much will this cost the budget? The election of a chairman is not just a personnel decision, it is a complete process necessary for transparent and fair elections?“
We remind you that yesterday the MPs overcame the veto of President Rumen Radeva on the texts of the Electoral Code and it became clear that the elections will be voted with machines and ballots.
Asked whether the CEC will cope with its new legal obligations regarding machine voting, Andreev did not answer unequivocally to FOCUS:
„Machine voting is not the cure for all the flaws in the electoral process.“
Andreev believes that the shortcomings of the election process should be the subject of wide public discussions.
„That’s why I think this debate will go on in society for a long time to come. Maybe that’s right.“, Andreev added. According to him, the machine vote will be a challenge for the election administration, especially as the amendments to the Electoral Code have been adopted.
Stoeva’s resignation was accepted on September 3rd. The decision was taken by 145 votes „in favour“, no votes „against“, and two abstentions. MRF leader Mustafa Karadayi then described the castling as a „weakness of the ruling party„. The resignation came about due to the latest amendments to the Electoral Code, with which Stoeva did not agree – namely, some of the texts were the reason for her to announce at the end of August that she was resigning „for personal reasons.“
According to the ruling majority’s proposal, there will be machine voting in all sections of the country with more than 300 voters. The texts state that it is the CEC’s obligation to provide machine voting, while Stoeva has repeatedly announced that the purchase of voting machines should be done by the state.
