EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
Author: Kaloyan Pravov
In 2016, parliament passed an unprecedented law that made voting compulsory, thereby revoking the voting rights of all citizens. Although the texts providing for criminal sanctions for non-voting were repealed, voting is still “compulsory” by law.
This year, the political class decided to bring a new dose of disruption to the electoral process, introducing a number of bills proposing a radical change in the way Bulgarians vote. This action by the deputies was prompted by the results of the national referendum on the electoral system, organized as a result of the huge public campaign of the famous showman Slavi Trifonov (we have written about the characteristics and potential effects of the introduction of the majoritarian electoral system here ). In general, the public debate shifted entirely to the topic of “majoritarian or proportional”.
Changing the electoral system does not address the real problems
Neither changing the electoral system nor turning rights into obligations will help the Bulgarian electoral system recover. The reason it is sick in the first place is that it has become a hostage to party interests and media scandals. Given that the EC has been changed six times since 2011, it is not surprising that the legitimacy of elections as a meaningful instrument for political decisions is critically low. However, it seems that our politicians are preparing to change the law once again and bring more instability to this key institution for democracy.
But where do the problems actually lie, if they are not in the method by which representatives are elected?
First of all, they lie in the low public trust in the institution of “elections”. In our country, this is expressed in the widespread opinion among society that buying and selling votes, electoral tourism and abuse are key factors for electoral victory. This perception is greatly exaggerated and is mainly due to the rhetoric of politicians seeking to position themselves “against the system”, as well as the media’s search for sensationalism on the topic. The reality is that most election observers do not recognize these factors as key sources of problems on election day. This discrepancy between public opinion and real problems creates the need for reform to improve the legitimacy of elections and refers us to the second key problem of the system, namely administrative and organizational disorders.
The main problems are administrative violations and low trust in the system.
A Transparency International report on the state of the electoral system in 2015 states that observers found that the majority of violations were caused by organizational shortcomings and the CEC's cumbersome administration. Any meaningful reform should focus on reducing bureaucracy in the system in order to reduce violations and the potential for corruption.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the political problem described in the presentation. The reason for the frequent electoral “reforms” generating instability is that parties either tried to bend the rules so as to gain an advantage and retain their power, or publicly announced that they had lost “officially, because of the system” when they failed to conduct meaningful campaigns. Deep suspicions of high-level party games make it imperative to propose an electoral reform that would put ideological consensus and long-term national responsibility first.
How can these problems be solved?
Is there a package of reforms that would adequately address the above-mentioned problems of the Bulgarian electoral system? The short answer is “yes.” Such reforms include the introduction of active registration and dynamic voter lists.
In short, they suggest that citizens should declare their desire to exercise their right to vote in advance within a reasonable period of time before election day, and that the list be compiled only for the upcoming elections and deleted after the official announcement of the results. Such measures will make electoral trade and tourism much more expensive, as they significantly complicate their organization - the voter selling his vote must be motivated first to register and then to vote. Another factor that is rarely taken into account in the public sphere is ensuring the security of the electoral lists. Cyberwar is part of the modern world and the danger of manipulation of election results by unfriendly external forces should not be underestimated. The absence of a permanent list of voters drastically reduces the possibility of elections being "hacked".
The above reforms would give the electoral institution the necessary legitimacy. In the past, numerous experts and politicians from various ideological circles have supported the introduction of active registration and the clearing of “dead souls” from the lists, which is an indication that a public consensus can and should be achieved. All that is needed is a certain amount of will, courage and long-term thinking for the good of the country.
It is obvious that the National Assembly is about to adopt new election rules. Let this time they be aimed at solving the real problems of Bulgarian democracy, instead of the usual "bread and butter".
This article was first published by the newspaper "Trud" here.
Image source: Google
What kind of registration are you talking about, when the administration changed the location of the street that was supposed to pass in front of me, it now passes by the gypsies living in temporary shacks, and the number there is unknown!