Participation of the PABSEC Delegation in the Observation of the Parliamentary Elections in the Republic of Bulgaria, Sofia, 14 November 2021
The PABSEC Delegation composed of Mr. Lorant - Zoltan Sas, PABSEC Vice -President, Head of the PABSEC Romanian Delegation, Mr. Igor Becic, Head of the PABSEC Serbian Delegation and Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, took part in the observation mission for parliamentary and presidential elections in Sofia (Republic of Bulgaria) on 14 November 2021. The Delegation was accompanied by Mrs. Pavlina Lozanova, Secretary of the PABSEC Legal and Political Affairs Committee.
On the Election Day, the monitoring Delegation visited various polling stations in different districts of Sofia. A common assessment of the PABSEC Delegation was that the elections were well organized, and all the regulations had been strictly followed. They estimated that the elections day had passed without any significant incidents and they were held in a democratic and transparent atmosphere. As a general conclusion, the PABSEC Delegation noticed a good organization and management of the electoral process in the Republic of Bulgaria.
According to preliminary evaluations, around 40.5 % of voters cast their ballots. There was no threshold for the participation of voters. The electoral threshold for the parties was 4%.
According to preliminary information, issued by social research agencies, the Political party “We Continue the Change” received 25.65% of the votes. The second was Coalition GERB - UDF, with 22.80% of the votes. The Political party “Movement for Rights and Freedom” – with 12.92 % - took the third position. The Coalition “BSP - For Bulgaria” got 10.26%, and the political party "There Is Such People" got 9.52% of the voters. The right party “Democratic Bulgaria” got the sixth place with 6.34% and the political party “Revival” took the seventh position with 4.86% of the votes.
The first preliminary results of the presidential elections in Bulgaria showed that none of the 25 candidates won more than 50 % of the votes. The incumbent President Mr. Rumen Radev got 49.45% of the votes and the candidate for the President Mr. Anastas Gerdzhikov - 22.85%.
Mr. Rumen Radev and Mr. Anastas Gerdzhikov will participate in the second round, which will be held on 21 November 2021.
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In the framework of the PABSEC Monitoring Mission to the parliamentary and presidential elections in Sofia, on 15 November 2021, the PABSEC Delegation met with Mr. Petar Kanev, Head of the PABSEC Bulgarian Delegation.
According to preliminary data, Mr. Petar Kanev was elected member of the Bulgarian Parliament and the PABSEC Delegation congratulated him on his election.
The PABSEC Delegation and Mr. Petar Kanev, Head of the PABSEC Bulgarian Delegation discussed the current activities of the Assembly and exchanged information on the PABSEC events, in the first half of 2022. The Secretary General informed the Head of the PABSEC Bulgarian Delegation on the organizational and preparatory work for the 58th General Assembly, to be held on 22 November 2021.
Mr. Petar Kanev expressed the support for the activities of the PABSEC and highly appreciated the work of the PABSEC International Secretariat. He informed the colleagues of the outcome of the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria held on 14 November. The MP underlined that Bulgaria attaches great importance to its participation in the PABSEC and expressed the readiness for continuing the fruitful cooperation within the Assembly.