Transparency International-Bulgaria will monitor general elections for corrupt practices of vote-buying

Transparency International – Bulgaria has launched for the second time a campaign to monitor Bulgarian elections, this time the general poll for the 41st National Assembly on July 5. In late 2008, TI Bulgaria initiated a Civil Society Coalition for Free and Democratic Vote whose aim was to monitor and register the corrupt practices of vote-buying at the European Parliament elections on June 7 and the July 5 national parliament vote. In January this year TI-Bulgaria signed a public Integrity Pact with Bulgaria’s political parties whose purpose was to raise the transparency of election campaign financing and limit vote-buying. All 19 political parties represented in the national and the European Parliament signed the Pact. More than 50 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also supported the initiative and made commitments to monitor the implementation of the Pact as well as the Election Day.

TI-Bulgaria was officially registered with Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission as an official observer of the European Parliament elections on June 7. The monitoring followed a specially designed methodology and registered vote-buying practices, illegal control over the voters, organisational irregularities and illegal propaganda in the Election Day. TI-Bulgaria published an Interim Report on the Bulgarian European Parliament elections which is now available for the Bulgarian public and the international community.

TI-Bulgaria will carry out monitoring of the forthcoming National Assembly elections on July 5. We will deploy 420 observers across the country, and we will be supported by a wide network of partner NGOs. TI-Bulgaria is also cooperating and exchanging expertise with international organisations such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSE) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which will deploy observing missions. The results of this monitoring will be published in a report and made available to the Bulgarian public, the diplomatic missions, European and international organisations.