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2007 Assessment

Bulgaria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Bulgaria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Election Integrity
Indicators		Score
17	In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?	100
18	Is the election monitoring agency effective?	90
19	Are elections systems transparent and effective?	100

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

17: In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Central Electoral Commission

The Commission for Local Elections (Electoral Laws)

Is the election monitoring agency effective?

18a: In law, the agency or set of agencies/entities is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments: The composition of the Electoral Commissions reflects the composition of the parliament.

References: All electoral laws

Peer Review Comments: Although representation on the Electoral Commission reflects the composition of Parliament, the fact that the Electoral Commission includes representatives of the opposition is the only guarantee of transparency and public control.

Peer Review Comments: The Electoral Commission, however, has organizational independence from the political parties represented in the Parliament. There have not been any serious problems in the last 10 or 15 years that might suggest that the Electoral Commissions have acted in favor of one or another political party or candidate.

18b: In practice, agency (or set of agencies/entities) appointments are made that support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

Comments: Usually lawyers and experts are appointed to the Commissions. In general, there is no open partisan behavior as far as the administration of the elections is concerned.

References: Nations in Transit 2007

Media electoral reports

Peer Review Comments: Usually, lawyers and experts are appointed to the commissions. Although they belong to different political parties, the transparent work of the commission puts them under civil control.

18c: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: The agency has enough resources to fulfill its duties. It is important to point out, however, that it is not a permanent body and operates only during election time.

References: The agency has enough resources to fulfill its duties. It is important to point out, however, that it is not a permanent body and operates only during election time.

18d: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities makes timely, publicly available reports following an election cycle.

Score:

100

Comments: The commission has been quite efficient in announcing the results of the elections. Dealing with complaints and other matters has also been rather smooth.

References: [ LINK ]

18e: In practice, when necessary, the agency or set of agencies/entities imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: The agency has imposed penalties on offenders. The weakest area of enforcement has proven to be party financing.

References: Reports of Transparency International, Bulgaria, on the monitoring of campaign expenditure

Peer Review Comments: The agency has imposed penalties on offenders. The weakest area of enforcement has proven to be party financing, but it is a priority of National Audit Office.

Are elections systems transparent and effective?

19a: In practice, there is a clear and transparent system of voter registration.

Score:

100

Comments: Voters need not be registered in Bulgaria in order to vote. The process is done in a centralized way, which seems to be efficient. Residency requirements were introduced in 2007 for the European Parliament and the local elections, but, especially regarding the second case, there was no system of enforcement of these requirements.

References: Voters need not be registered in Bulgaria in order to vote. The process is done in a centralized way, which seems to be efficient. Residency requirements were introduced in 2007 for the European Parliament and the local elections, but, especially in the second case, there was no system of enforcement of these requirements.

Peer Review Comments: The system of voter registration, though defined by law, is not enforced properly. During elections, there are usually signs of double voting (for example, some voters vote one time in Turkey and second time on the same day in Bulgaria). There are many allegations and journalists' reports stating that the the Turkish party in Bulgaria organizes and pays for so-called "election tourism."

19b: In law, election results can be contested through the judicial system.

Score:

YES

Comments: For all electoral laws (parliamentary, presidential, local, European Parliament), the appeal process involves access to courts. In these specific cases, judicial proceedings are speedy and generally efficient.

References: For all electoral laws (parliamentary, presidential, local, European Parliament), the appeal process involves access to courts. In these specific cases, judicial proceedings are speedy and generally efficient.

19c: In practice, election results can be effectively appealed through the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments: There has been no noticeable politicizing or inefficiency of the justice system in the election law area.

References: There has been no noticeable politicizing or inefficiency of the justice system in the election law area.

19d: In practice, the military and security forces remain neutral during elections.

Score:

100

Comments: This has been the case in all elections since 1989.

References: This has been the case in all elections since 1989.

19e: In law, domestic and international election observers are allowed to monitor elections.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: All election legislation. For EU Parliament elections see Art. 25, 0;. 1, and Art. 57 of the Law on the Election of Deputies to the EU Parliament.

19f: In practice, election observers are able to effectively monitor elections.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Election observers have unfettered access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters themselves. The government does not interfere with the observers\' activities. <p>50 Score Criteria: Election observers generally have access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters but encounter restrictions in certain areas. The government may impose burdensome regulatory or bureaucratic requirements on observers to discourage their involvement. <p>0 Score Criteria: Election observers\' movements are significantly limited by the government and many polling and counting sites are restricted or barred from observers. The government imposes so many bureaucratic or regulatory burdens on the observers that their mission is rendered ineffective.$

Comments: There are no reports of impediments to monitoring of elections.

References: Nations in Transit 2008 (in print)