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Electoral reform could soon be coming to
Bulgaria. The country's President, Rosen Plevneliev, proposed
in January that a referendum should be held on three key issues surrounding
elections in Bulgaria: the introduction of a majority election, the proposal
for compulsory voting among citizens and the introduction of e-voting technology.
A big part of the problem with the
democratic process in Bulgaria is that the people have very low trust in the
political institutions in the country. Indeed, Bulgaria is regarded as the
second most corrupt member of the European Union and this doesn't fare well for
how the people of Bulgaria regard their governments. Indeed, recent polls have
indicated that public trust in parliament is
a mere 10 percent. Electoral reform that sees improvements in transparency
could aid in this effort.
The introduction of a majority election
could help too. Currently, the people vote on lawmakers based on a set of pre-defined
party lists. What this means is that the people of Bulgaria are currently
electing their 240 parliament members from party lists that are chosen by
someone else, rather than electing these officials on an individual basis,
based on individual merits. They may choose a party list based on just one
person from the list, not knowing anything about the other candidates on the
list that they are also effectively voting for.
There are debates as to whether compulsory
voting would be beneficial, but President Plevneliev wants “the voice of the
people [to] be heard.” Proponents of compulsory voting say that it would
improve the legitimacy of the results, as it would be far more difficult for
interested parties to “buy” votes and thus rig the election results. It could
also help to fight voter apathy.
Perhaps one of the most exciting
developments that could come from the Bulgarian referendum is the development
of e-voting technology as part of the overall electoral system. Opponents of
the proposition bring up common
concerns about security and technical complexity, but the overall
advantages of such a system are undeniable. The primary goal for the Bulgarian
implementation would be to provide better representation and access to the tens
of thousands of Bulgarians who are living abroad.
Remote voting, oftentimes implemented over
a secure Internet web portal, is growing in popularity among many countries
around the world. We've already seen improvements in remote voting in places
like Australia
and the Philippines, helping rural residents and expatriates have their
voice heard on the issues that matter to them. In tandem with the possible
inclusion of compulsory voting in Bulgaria, this could help to further
legitimize the elections and help to improve trust in government.
Indeed, following allegations that up to
350,000 fake ballots were prepared to influence the May 12 general election
last year in Bulgaria, having a voter-verifiable paper trail to go along with
an e-voting system that is thoroughly audited by an impartial third party could
reduce doubts among the Bulgarian people in regards to electoral fraud.
However, the referendum on these three key
issues – majority voting, compulsory voting, and e-voting technology – may not even
be held. As it stands, a petition is being signed that could then be delivered
to the Bulgarian government. If 500,000 authentic signatures are collected, a
poll must be held.
"I appeal to the parliament to take a
decision to hold a referendum, said Plevneliev. “I believe [it] will help to
stabilize the institutions and increase public trust.”
