President Radev and Central Election Commission: Amendments to the Electoral Code Are Necessary

 During a meeting between President Rumen Radev and the CEC leadership, CEC Chairman Andreev commented, that this cannot be done with an extended interpretation of the Electoral Code.

Conclusion of all was that the voting of the isolated voters with coronavirus cannot be regulated without changes in the Electoral Code.

He clarified that currently voting through mobile polling stations is provided only for people with permanent disabilities who do not allow them to appear in the polling station, as evidenced by medical documents.

 President Radev himself also believes that legal changes are needed. The CEC chairman noted that the legitimacy of the elections must be guaranteed, that democratic and fair elections must be guaranteed, and in this regard the expanded interpretation could call into question these principles, which is also related to the credibility of the electoral process. He highlighted public confidence in the electoral process as one of the main priorities.

 The CEC chairman also explained that postal voting also could not be regulated without changes to the Electoral Code. He added that voting by mail will require the active participation of voters, active registration, addresses where they will have to receive the documentation.

"When we talk about experimental introduction, it does not mean that the results will be taken into account," Andreev said. "We issue rules on implementation, and the implementation must be in view of the content of the Electoral Code," the CEC chairman explained.

He pointed out that the commission has thoroughly studied the experience of states and there are alternative voting mechanisms that are legally based. In this case, neither the voting by mail nor the voting with a proxy is...