Samstag, 11. Mai 2013

Bulgarian Elections (2)

Von Sofia ging es am Nachmittag nach Stana Zagora, wo ich morgen mit zwei anderen Teilnehmern der Observing Mission die Wahlen beobachten werde. Wie wichtig das ist, zeigt ein Vorfall, der heute Abend publik wurde: In einer Druckerei, die der Regierungspartei GERB zuzuordnen ist, wurden 350.000 gefälschte Wahlzettel gefunden.

(Reuters) - Bulgaria has seized 350,000 fake ballot papers, prosecutors said on Saturday, a day before a parliamentary election that is likely to deliver no party a majority and more political turmoil in the EU's poorest country. Prosecutors said the ballots were found at a printing house owned by the company of a local councilor from the centre-right GERB whose government resigned from office during protests against low living standards and corruption in February, but which still has a narrow lead in opinion polls. 
"Over 350,000 printed ballots, that were ready for use in the parliamentary elections, were found in stores of a printing house in Kostinbrod," the prosecuting office in the capital, Sofia, said in a statement about Friday's seizure. The interim government, which took over after GERB Prime Minister Boiko Borisov resigned, said it had received all 8.34 million ballots it had ordered and distributed them to polling stations already. 
The owner of the printing shop based near Sofia, councilor Yordan Bonchev, denied any wrongdoing and said it had a license to print ballots, which the government confirmed. 
President Rosen Plevneliev said he expected the Central Election Commission to respond "to ensure the lawful democratic elections, including taking emergency measures if necessary", without giving details. 
GERB called for an immediate halt to "speculation and political persuasion" on a day when campaigning was banned, but the accusation is likely to further dismay a population fed up with corruption, organized crime and low living standards.
Bulgaria struggles to supply running water and reliable electricity to some of its citizens, 2 million of whom have left since the 1989 fall of communism. In rural areas, many villages are run down and populated only by the elderly. 
After a campaign marred by a wiretapping scandal, in which prosecutors said a senior GERB member had allowed ministry employees to commit crimes, and more mud-slinging than debate about policy, coalition talks are expected to be difficult and that may raise questions over governance and economic policy.
 Die Wahl wird desshalb parallel von SORA ausgezählt. Um größtmögliche Transparenz zu wahren, werden die Daten auf www.fairelections-bulgaria.eu online gestellt. Die erste Hochrechnung wird zwischen 19 und 21 Uhr CET erwartet. Ab sieben Uhr haben die Wallokale geöffnet, Wahlschluss ist um 20 Uhr.

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