Bulgarian Election Body Probes GERB MP Presence at Vote Count

Bulgaria's Central Electoral Commission, CEC, had asked the Chair of the Sofia Municipal Electoral Commission, OIC, for an official explanation of the presence of two MPs from the ruling party inside the facility where the capital's ballots have been counted.

The information was announced Wednesday by CEC spokesperson, Ralitsa Negentsova, in an interview for the State-owned Bulgarian National Radio, BNR.

A day earlier, CEC told the Bulgarian Dnevnik daily that a representative of a political party has no place where ballots are being counted, but explained they had not been informed about this particular case, are unaware of the exact location of the 2 MPS and will not carry a probe. Now, Negentsova says they asked for explanation over the fact such presence is an illegal act.

Stanislav Ivanov, Member of the Parliament from the ruling, center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party firmly rejects accusations of attempting to manipulate elections results.

On Monday, one day after the country's presidential and local elections, Ivanov and another GERB MP, Ivan Bozhilov, were seen inside the capital's Universiada Hall where the Sofia ballots were counted by OIC. GERB issued a statement denying claims the two were there to manipulate the outcome of the count, and explained they were accredited by the party as representatives before the Central Election Commission (CEC) and OIC.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Bulgarian Sega daily published a picture of Ivanov where he is seen carrying a bag filled with ballots in the company of another man. According to the MP, cited by Dnevnik, he had the bag because he was helping a pregnant woman and an elderly one with the load.

Ivanov insists he was nowhere near the computers where the ballots were counted, but remained in the lobby, trying to help with the organization, adding he felt sorry so many in Bulgaria turn every simple act into politics.

In the aftermath of the October 23 presidential and local elections, the Sofia Municipal Electoral Commission (OIC) was overrun by total disarray over poor organization and long delays in the counting of ballots, which continued well into the night.