Presidential elections were held in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
on 23 October 2011, with a runoff held on 30 October 2011. Incumbent president
Georgi Parvanov
Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov ( bg, Георги Седефчов Първанов, ) (born 28 June 1957) is a Bulgarian historian and politician who was President of Bulgaria from 2002 to 2012. He was elected after defeating incumbent Petar Sto ...
was not eligible for re-election; the
Constitution of Bulgaria
The Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria ( bg, Конституция на Република България, ''Konstitutsia na Republika Bǎlgariya'') is the supreme and basic law of the Republic of Bulgaria. The current constitution was ...
limits a president to two terms. No candidate won outright in the first round, resulting in a runoff between the eventual winner,
Rosen Plevneliev
Rosen Asenov Plevneliev ( bg, Росен Асенов Плевнелиев ; born 14 May 1964) is a Bulgarian politician who was the 4th President of Bulgaria, holding the position from January 2012 to January 2017. He was the Minister of Region ...
of
GERB
GERB ( bg, ГЕРБ, translation=coat of arms, acronym for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) is a conservative, populist political party which was the ruling party of Bulgaria between 2009 and 2021.
History
GERB is headed by for ...
, and
Ivaylo Kalfin
Ivaylo Georgiev Kalfin ( bg, Ивайло Георгиев Калфин; born 30 May 1964) is a Bulgarian politician. A three-term deputy, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and Deputy Prime Minister from 2005 to 2009 in the Stanishev ...
of the
Bulgarian Socialist Party
The Bulgarian Socialist Party ( bg, Българска социалистическа партия, translit=Balgarska sotsialisticheska partiya, BSP), also known as The Centenarian ( bg, Столетницата, links=no, translit=Stoletnitsat ...
.
Background
The presidential elections were held in conjunction with local elections, saving the country BGN 8 million according to the finance minister
Simeon Djankov
Simeon Dyankov ( bg, Симеон Дянков, also Djankov; born July 13, 1970) is a Bulgarian economist. From 2009 to 2013, he was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Bulgaria in the government of Boyko Borisov. Prior to hi ...
. However, the move drew criticism from the US Ambassador in Sofia,
James Warlick, who said that the move led to poor administration during the elections.
Candidates
There are 18 registered candidates.
Rosen Plevneliev
Rosen Asenov Plevneliev ( bg, Росен Асенов Плевнелиев ; born 14 May 1964) is a Bulgarian politician who was the 4th President of Bulgaria, holding the position from January 2012 to January 2017. He was the Minister of Region ...
,
Ivaylo Kalfin
Ivaylo Georgiev Kalfin ( bg, Ивайло Георгиев Калфин; born 30 May 1964) is a Bulgarian politician. A three-term deputy, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and Deputy Prime Minister from 2005 to 2009 in the Stanishev ...
, and
Meglena Kuneva
Meglena Shtilianova Kuneva ( bg, Меглена Щилиянова Кунева; born 22 June 1957) is a Bulgarian and EU politician.
Biography
Born in Sofia, Kuneva is descended from a Catholic family from the town of Rakovski. She graduat ...
were expected to have the best chance of reaching the second round.
[Leading MEP runs for Bulgarian presidency]
Eurative, 19 July 2011 The candidates are:
Opinion polls
First round
Conduct
MPs interfering with the ballot count
Two GERB MPs were photographed at the Sofia electoral commission amid the chaos that erupted at the Sofia commission right after the first round of presidential and local elections.
These two MPs were not authorized to be present at the electoral commission at that time: an offence under Bulgarian law. One of the GERB MPs, Stanislav Ivanov, was photographed carrying a large bag around the Sofia Electoral Commission building. This bag was presumably full of ballots.
The Central Electoral Commission held a meeting on the case but failed to reach a decision, because voting could not reach the required 2/3 majority.
Universiada Hall crisis
Members of electoral committees were held without rest or sleep for 30 to 34 hours. Universiada Hall was not aired, was stunningly cold and members of committees were not given food and water, and not allowed to go outside the Hall to buy such. Journalists and observers were not allowed in Universiada Hall and a large region around it was slipped off with police until the next day late afternoon and early evening.
In the day of the elections and day after one member of Municipal Committee in
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
died, six ambulances arrived at Universiada Hall to assist fainted committee members, while the number of fainted man and women, and those suffering health problems during and after elections is not known, according to witnesses people were fainting in the Hall and at the queues for delivering elections protocols, and in the first lines at the committee members meeting in Universiada people were in constant fainted and wakening cycles condition because of lack of air, cold, malnutrition and exhausture.
People slept on floor, on bags with bulletins and even some left Universiada Hall unlawfully with taking the bulletins with themselves at home because of the poor conditions.
In the first announcement of the situation no politician or Central Committee member expressed any sorry or apology for it and party GERB said that the reason of this was the one-hour delay of the starting of the electoral day but in fact the starting of the electoral day was marked by no voters in the first 2 hours, while people was arriving at sections to vote around 8 am.
After the scandal of the situation of people still at Universiada Hall sparked in media, it was announced that committee members held there will receive 60 lv or 30 Euro more as a compensation for the long hours stay.
International statements
The
PACE
Pace or paces may refer to:
Business
*Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US
* Pace Airlines, an American charter airline
*Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...
delegation noted that whilst the election was conducted in a generally orderly and peaceful way, there remained concerns about a lack of an equal access to the media, blurred distinctions between newspaper editorials and political advertisements, the lack of a dedicated voter roll and the candidate registration system which particularly affected independent candidates. PACE also recommended that voting for expatriate Bulgarians should be improved. The
OCSE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...
delegation also noted concerns about the blurred lines in media coverage, as well as vote-buying allegations, restrictions on using minority languages in campaigns, and inflammatory statements by some candidates.
OSCE positive about Bulgarian election but worried by vote-buying, media coverage
The Sofia Echo, 25 October 2011
Results
References
External links
NSD: European Election Database - Bulgaria
publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election results, 1990-2011
{{Bulgarian elections
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
Presidential elections in Bulgaria
Presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
October 2011 events in Europe