Ahead of runoff, Gyurov camp files complaint against PM Radev with election body
Radev's call to vote for Iotova was shared through official government channels. Gyurov's campaign committee says this breaches the Electoral Code and is seeking sanctions.
Archive image · Photo: Radosław Botev / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 pl (cropped and resized)
The initiative committee backing presidential candidate Andrey Gyurov and his running mate Georgi Kandev filed a complaint with the Central Election Commission on Monday. It concerns a statement by Prime Minister Rumen Radev urging voters to back Iliana Iotova in the Nov. 1 runoff and making accusations against Gyurov. According to the committee, the statement was distributed via the government press service, the gov.bg website and the Council of Ministers' official Facebook page.
The committee says this amounts to campaigning through a state institution and free use of administrative resources, both prohibited by the Electoral Code. Among other things, it is asking for the posts to be removed immediately, for the responsible officials to be identified, for proceedings against Radev and those responsible, and for the National Audit Office to be involved. It is asking for a ruling within the 24-hour period provided for such complaints. There was no immediate response from the government.
Asen Vassilev, leader of We Continue the Change, also advised Radev not to use the Council of Ministers as a party headquarters, according to public broadcaster BNT, and accused the prime minister of frightening citizens with the threat of war. Iotova finished ahead of Gyurov in the first round, according to preliminary results.