"Today is a day for reflection to decide who we will vote for. Instead, we will again have to discuss how we will vote - by machine or by paper.” This was stated by the Prime Minister Academician Nikolay Denkov at an extraordinary briefing in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reported BGNES.
"This is important because in the last paper-only election, over 660,000 ballots were declared invalid. We can only guess how many of the current mayors were elected with these invalid ballots. The ballots from the machines cannot give invalid ballots, that's why this type of voting was introduced," the prime minister added.
"The State Agency for National Security (SANS) report is in a format that does not comply with the legal requirements. It gives the impression that the lack of SANS report secrecy aims for it to spread." The Council of Ministers will vote on the resignation of SANS Deputy Chairman Denyo Denev after the report, Denkov announced, adding that it contains manipulative statements.
According to him, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has misled the public.
"Everything is done at the last minute so there is no time to react. The Supreme Administrative Court will be able to rule on Monday - after the elections. You have grounds to reconsider your decision and allow machine voting. The Ministry of the Interior is ready to deliver the machines," he pointed out.
"CEC banned voting by machines. This is based on only one SANS report in which observations that were made in a controlled environment were interpreted manipulatively. These suggestions have no basis whatsoever," said Denkov.
Regarding the SANS report, Denkov stated that he saw no reason to present "a report that represents a manipulation". "Other people have it, too, so why not showing it? If we put it on the website of the Ministry of Justice, it means that we are publishing a lie", Denkov also commented.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the verification process has been delegated to the Deputy Minister of e-Government, Mihail Stoinov. "There will be an investigation into his actions. At the moment, I see no reason for the resignation of the Minister of e-Government, Alexander Yolovski," explained Denkov.
He specified that the CEC had misled the public that the machines had left the warehouses without its order. "In addition, the decision to certify the conformity of the machines was not only signed by the Deputy Minister of e-Government, Mihail Stoinov, but also by the chairman of the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology, but also by the chairman of the management board of the Bulgarian Institute of Standardization". said the prime minister and commented that "everything was done at the last moment so that there might not be time to react". "Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) also came out with the position that they will consider the appeal of the "We countinue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria" against the decision of the CEC to cancel the machine voting at the earliest on Monday, after the first round of counting", said Academician Nikolay Denkov.
He appealed to the CEC to reconsider its decision and restore machine voting. "The Ministry of the Interior is ready to provide the machines on time", emphasized the Prime Minister.
Denkov also addressed the political partners in power: "They have to decide what kind of world they will live in. In a legal or in a world where someone secures group or personal interests. If this tension continues, I don't see the point of having a cabinet", said the Prime Minister. /BGNES
