Send to Kindle
Lyutvi Mestan (C), the DPS's leader, had long resisted the introduction of preferential voting before it was enforced through the 2014 Election Code. Photo by BGNES
DPS leader Lyutvi Mestan ha called on politicians to start a debate on whether and how to keep the recently-introduced preference-voting system in the national legislation preventing any risk of abuse.
Mestan heads Bulgaria's third-largest party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), dominated by ethnic Turks.
"If there is political will for preferential voting to continue... very serious amendments are necessary within the Election Code... to overcome the risk for the ballots of a single family in a given village to make changes in national election lists," Mestan warned as quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio.
Preference voting had its first test during European Parliament elections in May this year and was first used in a national vote in October 5's snap poll.
DPS's members had however agreed not to avail of the preference tool and not to set up a campaign encouraging voters to do so.
The party expelled two lawmakers from its parliament group last week, since they had been elected with preference and had thus secured seats in Parliament instead of two other key party officials who had been tipped to enter.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!
Amidst ongoing negotiations to form a new government, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) has expressed openness to exploring alternative governance arrangements
In a pivotal moment for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), Delyan Peevski and Dzhevdet Chakarov have been elected as co-chairmen of the party during a national conference held in Sofia on Saturday
"Everyone is dancing to the little talkative Scheherazade Hristo," said Delyan Peevski on the sidelines of the Bulgarian parliament
The chairman of the DPS parliamentary group, Delyan Peevski, accused the co-chairman of "We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB), Hristo Ivanov, of wanting to impose his personnel in the prosecutor's office
Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov reassured the public in a Facebook Q&A session regarding the upcoming cabinet rotation in March, emphasizing the government's firm stance on maintaining the Council of Ministers' composition despite negotiations with the Move
The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) Honorary Chair Ahmed Dogan raised concerns about the party's evolving nature, warning against it becoming a "corporate partisan organization" driven solely by financial interests
I feel no moral guilt towards anyone. This was stated by Kiril Petkov, answering a question whether he would apologize to the Bulgarian people for violating the Constitution.
Head of the Military Medical Academy (MMA) Major General Prof.
The Ministry of Finance has revised its autumn forecast for economic development.
Bulgarian police arrested a Russian citizen and two Lithuanians on suspicion of exporting “sensitive information” from the Arsenal military plant in Kazanlak.
The government has changed its order requiring state-owned companies to pay a dividend to the budget.
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
Bulgaria: 3 Regions With Lowest Life Expectancy - EU Report 2022
