Former and current State Election Commission (SEC) members, as well as prominent law professors, are among the experts the Justice Ministry is intensively consulting to find a solution to the issue of participation of independent candidates in the local elections, sources have told Sitel.
Even though no details have been revealed, Minister Igor Filkov’s met all of them separately aiming to prevent the process from being halted and to prevent a legal vacuum from being created.
The SEC’s stand remains unchanged, that is, its view is that a public session will have been held by the end of the week at which the new guidelines, which will specify the procedure to file candidacies of independents, to confirm the right to participation in the local elections, will be being aligned.
SEC President Boris Kondarko has clarified for Sitel that Article 60 of the Electoral Code guarantees the right to participation of independent candidates without them being required to collect signatures.
When it comes to the media sector, 257 internet portals, eight print media, 33 TV stations, and 43 radio stations have applied for paid political advertising for the elections. The SEC says the applications will be checked, adding that the number is not final.