Bulgarian parliamentary elections: take 7
On 27 October voters in Bulgaria will go to the polls to elect a new parliament for the seventh time in three and a half years. The last elections in June failed to produce a majority government in Sofia. The national media warn of voter fatigue and political and moral decay.
Compromise or a sad world record
Instead of asking the people to vote yet again, the parliamentarians should work on their red lines, Dnevnik suggests:
“This is the seventh parliamentary election in the space of three and a half years, and the resulting distribution of seats in parliament will not be much different from the current one. ... Everyone says that there has to be a regular government, but the red lines that have been drawn minimise the chances of this happening. Unless some kind of compromise cabinet is formed, next year could see the eighth snap election in a row, making Bulgaria the world record holder.”
Voters sick of the whole spectacle
Because citizens are fed up with elections, the politicians are barely bothering with election campaigns in the traditional sense, observes Sega:
“The election campaign is so quiet and inconspicuous that one might wonder whether it is taking place at all. ... The politicians already know that the vast majority of voters have no confidence in them, so they see no point in investing money and resources in campaigns, preferring instead to invest in various tricks that will bring them few votes, but without fail. The low voter turnout allows parties with fewer than 100,000 votes to enter parliament.”
Elections as an undemocratic business model
The lower the number of people who vote, the more worthwhile vote buying becomes, Duma notes, and complains that this undermines democracy:
“In politically and economically deadlocked Bulgaria, elections have become big business. In some places the price for a vote has reached 300 leva [about 150 euros]. When someone invests millions in buying votes, this does nothing to promote the interests of society. It's an investment aimed at recouping the invested money and making a profit. What does that have to do with politics?”