Minister Svetlan Stoev: Changes in the Constitution of the Republic of Northern Macedonia are a way to solve the problem with the Bulgarians there
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Svetlan Stoev announced that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will propose changes in the Electoral Code, which will improve the electoral process and allow Bulgarian citizens abroad to vote by mail with active registration.
Minister Stoev gave a briefing to the media, which analyzed the vote abroad on July 11, 2021 and presented the current state of relations with the Republic of Northern Macedonia.
Elections abroad – the balance stroke by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Minister Stoev, the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Elections Working Group, Ivan Kondov and Kalin Anastasov, presented data on the organization of the elections on July 11 abroad, as well as arguments on the basis of which specific proposals for changes related to the election process were made.
“For the first time since I participated in organizing elections abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not been accused of not fulfilling its commitments. Thanks to all those who were involved in the election process abroad – to the volunteers, our colleagues from abroad missions who worked hard, to colleagues in the Central Office and other administrations, to the technicians”, our Foreign Minister said.
On July 11, a record 782 polling stations in 68 countries were opened for voting abroad. It was emphasized that their huge number had led to serious difficulties in organizing the vote, including the delivery and return of voting machines and ballot papers.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not an appendage of the CEC to organize elections abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is an institution that is called to protect the national interests of the Bulgarian state and of the Bulgarian citizens abroad”, Minister Stoev was categorical. He pointed out that the organization of elections is a democratic process, but there is a civilized way for this to happen, which is practiced by the majority of European Union member states. Therefore, in the analysis of the July 11 vote, which the Foreign Ministry will send to the CEC and the National Assembly, among the proposals will be both the voting abroad by mail after active registration of those wishing to vote and the establishment of an Abroad District Election Commission.
In the last elections, the last Section Election Commission abroad received confirmation of processed protocols shortly after 7:50 pm on Monday, July 12. “The largest District Election Commission (DEC) in Bulgaria administers 739 sections, which is less than the number of sections formed abroad. The members of this DEC are 23 people. One of the smallest DECs in Bulgaria with about 15 members administers about 250 sections. The processing of the results from the sections abroad, which were sent after the election day, was done by three people”, said Svetlan Stoev.
He also stressed that the upcoming presidential election would create serious challenges for the Foreign Ministry in terms of short deadlines, the expected large number of sections, as well as of human, financial and technical nature. According to the analysis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the forthcoming presidential and vice-presidential elections, the estimated number of automatically opened sections abroad, according to the current Electoral Code and the number of voters in the July 2021 parliamentary elections, is 713. Among them in 216 the vote will be machine-based. The total number of sections will be around 900-1000, taking into account the number of sections that will be formed by the number of submitted applications.
What else do the data and conclusions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs show after the vote?
– In the elections for the National Assembly on July 11, 2021, 173,843 Bulgarian citizens voted abroad, 4 percent less than those who voted in the elections on April 4. At the same time, the number of sections increased by 62% compared to the spring vote. The huge increase in the number of polling stations abroad led to voting without queuing, and not to higher turnout.
– Bulgarian citizens abroad chose the machine vote – in 273 sections by machines voted 89,595 people, and in 509 sections by ballots voted 84,248. There is no case of transition from voting by machines to voting by ballots in the sections outside the country.
– 68 802 are the voters included in the voter lists, of which 24 239 did not vote (or voted elsewhere).
– The largest number of voters was in the section in Nikiti, Greece – 1382, in Nea Paramos – 1093, in our Consulate General in Munich – 879. The lowest number of voters was in the two sections in Brazil – in Sao Paulo and in the Bulgarian Embassy in Brazil , where 9 people voted in each section, despite the required 40 applications for voting.
– The effect of non-EU countries was defined as “the Effect 35”, where after the changes in the Electoral Code the restriction for 35 sections was dropped. In the UK, sections of 35 became 135, and the number of voters there was the same despite an increase of 286%. In the USA, fewer Bulgarian citizens voted, and in Turkey the increase was minimal, although 220% more sections were opened.
– For the last month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs transported over 40 tons of machines and ballot papers to different parts of the world. 125 machines have already been returned from abroad, and all machines are expected to be collected by July 25.
– As main problems in the election process, the leaders of the Elections WG highlighted the late adoption of procedural decisions and rules by the CEC, for example with regard to the declaration under Article 33 of the EC.
– Opening sections with 40 applications was also a challenge. The statistics from the elections of July 11, 2021 show that only 6% of the total number of voters voted in sections where the number of voters is less than 100 people.
Current state of the relations with the Republic of Northern Macedonia
The resumption of the dialogue with the Republic of Northern Macedonia has been a major theme since the caretaker government took office. Minister Stoev, as well as Vasiliy Takev, acting Director General for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the efforts are aimed at conducting a proactive dialogue on the Bulgarian side at all levels ‑ by the Head of State, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, and experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“I have repeatedly emphasized that Bulgaria is most interested in the Republic of Northern Macedonia becoming part of the EU and that this should happen as soon as possible”, said Minister Stoev. “Bulgaria has been always guided by the position that the Republic of Northern Macedonia is a sovereign state with all its rights and obligations for the Union it wants to join”, he added.
The negotiation process with the Republic of Northern Macedonia runs along two lines – in bilateral contacts with the political elite of Skopje and in an intensified dialogue with our European partners to clarify the Bulgarian position. “The most direct way to make progress is to sign a bilateral agreement”, he said. By achieving the desired result on both sides, we could prove that Bulgaria and the Republic of Northern Macedonia can reach a solution without the intervention of other EU member states.
Minister Stoev also highlighted the clear and categorical position of our country on the language of hatred and the issue of human rights, which Bulgaria is discussing not only with the Republic of Northern Macedonia, but also with our partners in the EU. According to him, the Bulgarian side will not allow hate speech to be a reality in relations with Skopje”. To this a very serious position is added in connection with the protection of human rights and especially the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of Northern Macedonia. We are not only trying to protect these rights, but we are also looking for opportunities for the Bulgarians in the Republic of Northern Macedonia to be placed on an equal footing with the other listed nations in the country’s constitution”, said Svetlan Stoev, according to whom this would be in the interest of meeting the Copenhagen criteria and is one of the ways to solve the problems of the Bulgarians in the Republic of Northern Macedonia.
The Minister also recommended that the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs receive a broader framework for maneuvering in the negotiation process, which is now predetermined by the Framework Position of the Council of Ministers of 2019, approved by a declaration of the National Assembly. Svetlan Stoev stressed that the Foreign Ministry will not change the red lines. “We are a parliamentary republic. The red lines are a consequence of the framework position presented by the previous government for negotiations, and the parliament has adopted them”, he said. He stressed that the regular parliament and the foreign policy committee should analyze what has been agreed with the Republic of Northern Macedonia so that this dialogue can continue.
When asked what will happen in the future, Minister Stoev was categorical: “Continuation of the dialogue. The goal is one. The goal is common. The aim is for the Republic of Northern Macedonia to start EU membership negotiations as soon as possible and to implement the agreements reached on a bilateral basis.” For this, according to the Bulgarian side, it is necessary for the politicians in the Republic of Northern Macedonia to realize the responsibility they bear in this way.
