Bulgarian government accused of supporting candidate Yotova — Balkan Insight

In Bulgaria, opposition politicians and the Association of European Journalists Bulgaria criticized the government for allegedly using official communication channels to support presidential candidate Iliana Yotova. As Balkan Insight reports, the complaints also concern government statements directed at the media.

Complaint to the election commission

The dispute arose after Prime Minister Rumen Radev made a statement supporting Yotova in the first round of the presidential election. He said that in the second round, voters would choose between peace and war. The government's Facebook page and a press release from the government press service circulated this message, adding a call to vote for Yotova so that Bulgaria would be “in safe hands.”

Opposition candidate Andrey Gyurov and other opposition politicians said that the government was violating the electoral code. It prohibits the use of state information services for party campaigning. The Central Election Commission was informed of these accusations.

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Reaction from the journalistic community

Later, the government's page said that there had been no violation because the campaign ahead of the second round, scheduled for November 1, had not yet begun. The government also insisted that media outlets should cover the prime minister's statements in full and accused some outlets of omitting, distorting and manipulating his words.

The Association of European Journalists Bulgaria called the government's attempts to instruct the media on professional standards dangerous. The organization said that requiring all media outlets to reproduce the prime minister's statements in full demonstrates a misunderstanding of journalistic work. The association stressed that the code of ethics requires journalists to ensure the accuracy of information but does not prohibit them from critically analyzing the prime minister's positions.

In the first round, no candidate won an absolute majority. Gyurov, who had been significantly behind in polls before the vote, advanced to the second round together with Yotova. According to one polling agency, turnout was 22.5% of voters.