DP, official request to the Parliament: Establish an Investigative Commission for the May 11 elections

2025-10-14 12:44:00, Politikë CNA

DP, official request to the Parliament: Establish an Investigative Commission

The Democratic Party Parliamentary Group has sent the Assembly an official request to establish an Investigative Commission for the May 11 elections.

The DP group demands that a commission be established to control the legality of the activities of central and local government bodies, as well as to verify the use of state administration resources for electoral purposes.

In the announcement of the DP group of deputies, it is proposed that the Commission be composed of 11 (eleven) members, of which the chairman and four members belong to the DP and six members to the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group.

Announcement of the DP group:

The Democratic Party Parliamentary Group formalizes the request for the establishment of an Investigative Committee of the Assembly to control the legality of the activities of central and local government bodies, as well as to verify the use of state administration resources for electoral purposes in the elections of May 11, 2025.

The request highlights that, as foreseen by the four international resolutions adopted by the European People's Parties (EPP), the Centre Democrats International (CDI) and the International Democratic Union (IDU), the electoral process proved to be an electoral farce instead of a free and democratic expression of the will of the citizens. The problems and violations that accompanied the parliamentary elections were also widely reflected in the OSCE/ODIHR preliminary report, published the day after the elections on 12 May 2025.

According to the DP Parliamentary Group, in these international documents, it is clear that the parliamentary elections of May 11, 2025, were severely compromised due to serious violations and serious problems, especially in terms of: i) vote buying; ii) voter intimidation; iii) the electoral state; iv) the criminal patronage system; v) manipulation of the Diaspora vote; and vi) the finalization of the electoral farce on voting day.

The request also states that, with the aim of obtaining a fourth term in office and preventing rotation at all costs, the government engaged in a systematic abuse of power and state resources to manipulate the electoral process, specifically in the following areas: 1) Misuse of public events; 2) Capture of state institutions; 3) Reactivation of the patronage system; 4) Direct vote buying; 5) Electoral manipulation through subsidies for farmers; 6) Mass cancellation of fines; 7) Approval of 138 licenses for the cultivation of cannabis throughout the country; 8) Illegal procurement; 9) Abuse of legalization and construction permits; 10) Illegal employment; 11) Involvement of criminal groups in the campaign; 12) Control of the Media; 13) Network of "Patronageists" on Election Day; 14) Illegal Election Offices of the Socialist Party; 15) Vote Buying and Electoral Manipulation; 16) Confiscation of Identity Cards - Buying the Right to Vote; 17) Misuse of Personal Data; 18) Widespread Use of Counterfeit Badges of Staff and Observers; 19) Violation of the Secrecy of the Vote; 20) Covert Manipulation of Ballot Papers ("Bulgarian Train"); 21) Disappearance of 350 Ballot Boxes and Appearance of Doubtful Ballot Papers; 22) Manipulation of the Diaspora Vote and Election Day Irregularities; 23) Malfunctioning of Biometric Identification Systems (BIIS); and 24) Institutional Cooperation and Appeals.

The Commission is proposed to have as its object of activity: (i) Verifying the legality of the activities of central and local government bodies, as well as the use of state administration resources for electoral purposes in the elections of May 11, 2025; (ii) Assessing the need to take measures, including legal interventions through the adoption, correction or supplementation of relevant legislation to guarantee the principles of legality, integrity, equality, freedom and honesty in future electoral processes.

The Commission is proposed to consist of 11 (eleven) members, of whom the chairman and four members belong to the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party and six members to the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party.

Attached is the full request officially submitted by the opposition MPs. According to the Constitution, when the Investigative Commission is requested to be established by at least 35 MPs, the Assembly is obliged to approve the establishment of the Commission. /CNA