Bulgaria’s electoral commission decides to register both MRF factions simultaneously
Faced with rivalry over which of the two factions of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) would be first to register for Bulgaria’s October early elections, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) decided on September 2 that it would register the two simultaneously.
This is the latest episode in the faction fighting between those in the MRF loyal to its founder and honorary president Delyan Peevski, and those loyal to Peevski, whom Dogan has said has been ousted as co-leader and member of the party.
The contest between the two to be first temporarily derailed the process of registration of parties that had been meant to begin at 9.30am on September 2 and that is scheduled to continue on working days until September 11.
People from at least one camp crowded into the CEC headquarters, occupying desks and preventing commission staff from beginning the process of receiving applications – not only from the MRF but also any other party.
The stand-off between the two factions prompted an emergency meeting on September 2 of the CEC.
The CEC meeting was held in the absence of the commission’s head, Kamelia Neikova, who has gone to Azerbaijan as an election monitor.
The decision to register the two factions simultaneously, without allocating numbers to them, was taken with eight votes in favour and three against.
A proposal to ask the National Assembly for an alternative venue – the CEC is housed in the Party House, which is under the control of the Speaker of Parliament – did not get the majority needed to be approved.
Bulgarian National Radio quoted CEC member Georgi Bakhanov, a member of the commission nominated by Boiko Borissov’s GERB, as saying that the decision on simultaneously accepting the two applications was a legal absurdity, given that the applications would not be numbered.
CEC members originally nominated by the MRF, before the faction fighting began, also objected to the simultaneous acceptance of the registration applications.
Sevinch Solakova and Erhan Chaushev alleged that the proposal was intended to give an advantage to the Peevski camp.
Solakova said that “only one party is present downstairs, and that is the MRF with its chairperson”.
Though Dogan’s MRF has announced the expulsion from the party of Peevski and his allies, it would appear that on paper, the MRF continues to have two co-chairpersons: Peevski and Dogan loyalist Dzhevdet Chakurov. Solakova was referring to Chakurov, who is in the Dogan camp.
Tsvetozar Tomov, who is from the Democratic Bulgaria quota, supported his colleagues from the MRF.
“We are the CEC and our job is not to interfere in solving internal party problems. We must register the MRF in its various groups in a way that equalizes the claims of these people,” he said.
Peevski said earlier that soon after midnight, he had submitted an application for registration of “MRF -New Beginning”.
However, no such party exists. The court registration is of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms.
It is not very clear what Peevski sent and to where, and how the CEC will treat the electronically signed application, given that it does not have an electronic document reception system.
People from both factions in the MRF had been outside the Party House over the weekend in the contest to be first to register.
Dogan’s men occupied the central entrance, and Peevski’s men occupied all the others.
Stefan Manov of the CEC public council said that the administration of the commission must accept all applications submitted.
The commissioners must then review the applications and make a decision to grant or deny registration to the applicants.
This decision is subject to appeal in court.
The CEC may only register parties according to their current legal status. The means that a party cannot be registered under the name MRF-New Beginning.
Subsequently, when electoral coalitions are registered, some leeway in naming is allowed.
Currently, the intention of the Peevski camp is to enter the elections as a coalition as MRF-New Beginning, while the Dogan camp plans to use the name MRF – Democracy, Rights and Freedoms.
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