Bulgarian Analysts: Election Date Doesn’t Matter, Question Is How to Make People Vote

Social scientist Kolyo Kolev and political analyst Stoycho Stoychev commented on the "Hello, Bulgaria" show on Nova TV the upcoming parliamentary elections and how they will be held in a pandemic setting.

"The question is not the date of the election, but in what should be done to make people go to the polls," Kolev said.

"This election will have a very serious medical aspect. We need to know how the election is held during a pandemic so that people feel safe to go to vote. Otherwise, if they are afraid, only the hardcore electorates will go to the polling stations. Three main political parties - BSP, GERB and MRF - will win", he added.

According to Stoycho Stoychev, the Health Ministry has the right to request a clear date in order to draw up a protocol.

"At an official level, if the ministry commits to fixing a certain date, it will be blamed that the executive power has set the date. And this is the president's personal responsibility," he said.

According to Kolev, the consultations that President Rumen Radev held with the health authorities were pro forma. "One shakes off responsibility and the other asks what it is about, perhaps looking for his own way to shift the responsibility to someone else," the sociologist added.

"Whoever has tried to play tricks with dates and changes to electoral rules usually suffers afterwards.

The fact is that elections must be held in a safe environment. Therefore, epidemiologists should be called who will prepare models for a stable prognosis ", said Stoychev.