The Chairman of the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Saša Magazinović, is participating in an international observation mission for the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria

The Chairman of the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH) to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Saša Magazinović, is participating in an international observation mission for today's parliamentary elections in the Republic of Bulgaria as a representative of PACE, the only international organization accredited to observe elections in this country.

General elections in Bulgaria are being held for the seventh time in a row over the past three years, as all attempts to form a government following the previous six elections have failed. Currently, the country is being governed by a caretaker government led by interim Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev.

Before visiting polling stations and observing the electoral process, members of the Council of Europe observation mission held a meeting with Bulgarian government ministers responsible for the elections: Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov, Minister of Innovation and Growth Rosen Karadimov, and Minister of E-Government Valentin Mundrov. The ministers informed the members of the observation mission that the ministries have taken all necessary actions to ensure that these elections are conducted smoothly and to improve the overall electoral process, although the primary responsibility for conducting the elections lies with the Central Election Commission. Special attention has been given to voting using verified machines, which will be installed at all polling stations with more than 300 voters on the electoral roll. The Minister of Foreign Affairs briefed the members of the PACE Ad Hoc Committee on the organization of elections at diplomatic and consular missions abroad.

Magazinović chaired a meeting of the PACE Ad hoc committee with representatives of major media outlets in Bulgaria. The media representatives spoke about a sense of apathy and fatigue from frequent elections in recent years. As they mentioned, a political solution is not in sight, and the legitimacy of elected representatives may be questionable due to the very low voter turnout. In the previous parliamentary elections held in June this year, the turnout was only about 30%, despite voting being mandatory. The media representatives also highlighted issues related to facing pressures, mastering the media market, the disinterest of politicians in debates, and the dominant use of social media for message dissemination. In their briefings, they emphasized corruption and vote buying as very present problems in certain regions.

As part of the preparations for observing the parliamentary elections, members of the observation mission held separate meetings with the presidents and representatives of political parties and coalitions participating in these elections, as well as a meeting with representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). NGO representatives emphasized that the state still has much work to do to ensure fair elections, particularly given the issue of vote buying. They noted that information about campaign financing indicates that this time the least amount of money was spent on media campaigns, explaining that the parties themselves are no longer interested in reaching voters due to the frequency of elections and voter saturation.

The results of the elections, along with initial assessments of whether it will be possible to form a government or if Bulgaria will have to hold its eighth consecutive election, will be known tomorrow during the day. (end)