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| Law on Election of Members of Parliament
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Promulgated State Gazette No.37/13.04.2001
Chapter Six
ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Article 54
The election campaign shall start 30 days prior to the election day and end 24 hours prior to the election day.
Article 55
(1) Citizens, parties and coalitions, initiative committees, candidates and their canvassers shall be free to canvass orally or in writing at election meetings and in the mass media.
(2) The election canvassing shall be conducted in the official language.
(3) Election meetings shall be held in public. The organisers and the bodies of the Ministry of the Interior shall be responsible for maintaining order at the meetings.
(4) Civil servants in the central and municipal public administration, servicemen in the Armed Forces, employees of the Ministry of the Interior, judges, prosecutors and investigating officers, as well as persons holding elective positions in trade union organisations may not engage in canvassing.
(5) The Minister of Defence, together with the Central Election Committee, shall determine the terms and conditions for conscripts to become aware of the programs of parties, coalitions and candidates. No canvassing shall be allowed in military units. Commanders of military units shall provide conscripts with free access to the press, radio and television in their leisure time, as well as during their garrison leaves, and access to other election events in the community where the garrison is located.
Article 56
Independent candidates and parties and coalitions registered to run the elections shall be entitled to equal access to the sources of information needed for the purposes of the election campaign.
Article 57
(1) The editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper or a periodical which has published a material infringing upon the rights and good name of a candidate shall publish the response in the earliest following issue.
(2) The response shall be published at the same place and the same font.
(3) The response shall be published free of charge up to the size of the material to which it replies.
Article 58
(1) During the election campaign, candidates, parties and coalitions and initiative committees may prepare and disseminate posters, advertisements, appeals and other canvassing materials. Each canvassing material shall bear the name on behalf of which it is issued.
(2) Canvassing materials shall be put at places specified by the Mayor or, when they are put out on buildings and fences, with the consent of the property owner or manager.
(3) The use of public transport for canvassing purposes shall be prohibited.
(4) The use of canvassing materials which threaten the life and health of citizens, private, municipal or state-owned property and the traffic safety or materials infringing upon good morals, the dignity and good name of candidates shall be prohibited.
(5) The destruction of canvassing materials put in accordance with the requirements of this Law shall be prohibited until the end of the election day.
(6) Mayors of municipalities, wards or mayoralties or Proxy Mayors shall remove or seize the canvassing materials put in violation of this Law at a decision of the Constituency Election Committee and, if needed, with the assistance of the bodies of the Ministry of the Interior. On the election day, such materials may be removed also at a decision of the District Election Committee.
Article 59
(1) No canvassing shall be allowed from 24 hours prior to the election day to 8 p.m. on the election day.
(2) No findings of opinion polls in connection with the elections may be announced during the time set out in para 1.
(3) On the election day, opinion polls may be conducted outside the buildings where election districts are located through interviewing people who have already voted at the exit provided that the poll does not impede the voting process. The findings of such exit polls may be announced after 7 p.m.
Article 60
(1) The election programs of radio and TV operators shall start 30 days prior to the election day and end 24 hours prior to the election day.
(2) The Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National radio shall cover the election campaign in the form of introductory and final statements, special news and debates.
(3) The use of the programs of the Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio for the purposes of the election campaign shall not be allowed beyond the time allotted for the forms under para 2.
(4) The management of the Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio shall observe the principles of equal treatment and objective coverage in covering the events of parties, coalitions and candidates for Parliament in their news programs.
(5) The teams, forms and topics of the debates shall be specified jointly by the General Directors of the Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio and authorised representatives of the parties and coalitions, while taking into account their parliamentary representation. These conditions shall be subject to approval by the Central Election Committee not later than 31 days prior to the election day.
Article 61
In the election campaign on the Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio there shall be prohibited the use of elements of commercial advertising or the participation of candidates and representatives of parties and coalitions in commercials.
Article 62
The sequence of presentation of parties and coalitions at the time of the statements, news and debates shall be announced by the Central Election Committee upon casting lots in the presence of representatives of the parties and coalitions not later than 31 days prior to the election day.
Article 63
The election campaign on the Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio shall start and end with five-minute statements by the candidates or representatives of parties and coalitions.
Article 64
(1) The Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio shall cover the election campaign of parties and coalitions in special news.
(2) The total duration of the special news for the whole election campaign period shall reach up to 120 minutes for the Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio each but not more than five minutes a day.
Article 65
(1) The Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio shall offer the candidates for Parliament and the representatives of parties and coalitions TV and radio time for three debates with duration of up to 180 minutes.
(2) Parliamentary parties and coalitions shall be allotted at least a half of the tome under para 1, while the rest of the time shall be allotted to the other parties and coalitions.
(3) Debates may be conducted with the simultaneous participation of candidates for parliament and representatives of all parties and coalitions registered to run the elections.
Article 66
(1) Initiative committees and independent candidates, as well as parties and coalitions shall use regional radio and TV centres during the election campaign period under the terms and conditions laid down for the Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio.
(2) Regional radio and TV centres shall offer up to two hours of radio and TV time for debates of candidates and representatives of parties and coalitions.
(3) The terms and conditions for participation in the debates shall be established by lasting lots not later than 31 days prior to the election day. The heads of regional radio and TV centres, together with representatives of the parties, coalitions and initiative committees, shall specify the teams, forms and conditions for these broadcasts and also the topics of the debates.
Article 67
(1) The other radio and TV operators, including cable TV channels, may offer time for election campaign coverage under the same terms and conditions and at the same prices to independent candidates, parties and coalitions.
(2) The owners of the radio and TV operators under para 1 or their representatives shall announce the terms and conditions for election campaign coverage in writing.
(3) The terms and conditions under para 2 shall be submitted to the Central Election Committee for radio and TV operators with national coverage or to the Constituency Election Committees for radio and TV operators with regional and local coverage not later than 10 days prior to the beginning of election campaign broadcasts.
Article 68
Parties, coalitions and initiative committees shall pay for the election campaign broadcasts on the Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio at prices established by the Council of Ministers not later than 40 days of the election day. Payment shall be effected before the broadcasting of the program.
Article 69
Where the broadcast has infringed upon the rights and good name of a candidate, the latter shall have the right to response in pursuance of Art. 18 of the Law on Radio and Television. The request may be submitted to the respective radio or TV operator within 24 hours after the time of the broadcasting.
Article 70
(1) Where radio and TV operators violate the rules for the conduct of the election campaign, petitions may be served within 24 hours after the time of the broadcasting.
(2) Petitions shall be served to:
1. the Central Election Committee, where the license of operators has national coverage;
2. the Constituency Election Committee at the principal office of business of the operator, where the latter has regional or local coverage.
(3) Where the petition has been served to a committee which is not competent on the issue, this committee shall refer it to the relevant committee forthwith and advise the petitioner thereof.
(4) The competent Constituency Election Committee shall examine the petition within 24 hours and issue a decision which will be final.
Article 71
(1) The election campaign shall be financed through own resources of the independent candidates and the parties and coalitions, as well as through gifts donated by individuals and legal entities.
(2) The gifts under para 1 may not exceed BGL 10,000 per individual and BGL 30,000 per legal entity.
(3) The financing of the election campaign by legal entities in which the central government or municipal interest exceeds 50 per cent shall be prohibited.
(4) The financing of the election campaign by foreign individuals or legal entities or by joint ventures in which the foreign interest exceeds 25 per cent shall be prohibited.
Article 72
The total financing under Art. 71, para 1 may not exceed:
1. BGL 1,000,000 for parties;
2. BGL 2,000,000 for coalitions;
3. BGL 200,000 for initiative committees.
Article 73
Within a month after the election day, parties, coalitions and initiative committees shall report the funds raised and spent during the election campaign to the National Accounts Office. | |
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