President Rosen Plevneliev said that those who relied on the anti-European talk in the election campaign for members of the European Parliament were assessed by the people. “Once again the Bulgarian citizens showed that the nation is divided only in the imagination of some political leaders. The Bulgarian people are united in their attitude to the country’s geopolitical orientation and also in respect of the system of values we belong to and which the European Union is a symbol of,” the Head of State said at the briefing for journalists on the occasion of the recently held elections for European Parliament on 25 May.
The Bulgarian people said “No” to Euroskepticism and the anti-European rhetoric and “Yes” to European integration and placed extra trust on our common European project, the President emphasized. He added that Bulgaria is among the few member states which will not send anti-Europeans to the European Parliament.
Rosen Plevneliev also commented that increasing the voter turnout and motivating the citizens to voice their will is a real challenge to the Bulgarian politicians. The President expressed regret that the political situation in the country in the past year as well as the quality of the debate in the past month have had a negative impact on the voter turnout.
“Against this background, the position of the majority in the National Assembly and the fact that for five months they have been refusing to debate the proposal I made for conducting a referendum on the election system, is even more incomprehensible. This is a way we can convince the Bulgarian citizens that they are the ones who define the rules. This is the way we can stimulate not only the young people, but also those two million of our compatriots who live abroad to express their opinion on the events unfolding in the country by taking part in the political process,” the Head of State said. In his words, the fact that a large number of people marked their preference for individual candidates proved that the citizens are willing to have an election system with an “increasingly stronger majority-vote element.” “The large-scale preferential voting at the recently held elections is yet another clear proof that the Bulgarian people have the right to be asked what they think at a referendum and to voice their opinion on whether the majority-vote element should be stronger at future elections,” the President emphasized.
Rosen Plevneliev also expressed his concern that the forms of control over the will of the citizens are still among the topics accompanying any elections. The President was adamant that the institutions must show that the state is capable of opposing these ugly phenomena. “I expect prompt and public results regarding all established cases of abuse of the voters’ rights. A form must be found whereby not only the concrete doers, but also the political entities should be held responsible for such acts,” the Head of State said. Rosen Plevneliev recalled that the most efficient and long-term solution against the form of controlled voting is to considerably increase the voter turnout.
The President further said that he will not comment the impact the results of the elections for European Parliament would have on the executive branch of power since this is beyond his constitutional powers. “The future of the government is to be decided by Parliament and the political parties in it, not by the President,” the Head of State said. “The President’s Office is not going to cook coalitions, “3-5-8” formulas or whatever formats. I have no intention to overstep my constitutional powers. Talks - yes, consultations – yes. But do not expect of me to be an intermediary or a political broker,” the Head of State was adamant and called on for assuming greater responsibility for the country’s stability, for enhancing the economic and democratic prospects and listening to the citizens’ opinions.