Participation of the Permanent Secretary Mr. Svetlan Stoev in a meeting with the ad hoc committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to monitor the early parliamentary elections on 9 June 2024
08 June 2024 News
On 8 June 2024, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Svetlan Stoev, participated in an inter-ministerial meeting at the Ministry of Transport and Communications with the ad hoc committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to monitor the early parliamentary elections.
The meeting is hosted by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov, to whom the Council of Ministers has entrusted the implementation of the activities on the organisational and technical preparation of the elections. The Minister of Interior Kalin Stoyanov and the Minister of e-Government Valentin Mundrov also took part in it.
The Bulgarian side welcomed a total of thirteen parliamentarians members of national delegations to PACE, led by Mr. Oleksii Goncharenko — member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, Chair of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons and member of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada from the European Solidarity Party.
During the talks, the excellent long-standing cooperation with PACE in the field of parliamentary election observation was highlighted. Mr. Stoev briefed the audience on the tasks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in organizing the electoral process outside the country. He highlighted the efforts to ensure that all Bulgarian citizens abroad have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.
To this end, 769 polling stations have been opened abroad in 60 countries, 388 of which in 57 countries will be open for voting for the European Parliament. Overseas voters are also provided with the option of machine voting. A total of 245 voting machines were sent to polling stations where more than 300 people voted in the previous elections, as required by the Election Code. The Bulgarian side confirmed its readiness to provide the necessary assistance for the successful conduct of the PACE monitoring mission.
During their stay in the country, the delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe also held meetings with members of the Central Election Commission, representatives of the media and civil society.
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