The National Assembly voted 128-85, with 15 abstentions on Monday to amend the Election of National Representatives Act so that 31 MPs will be elected according to a majoritarian system and 209 according to a proportional representation system. The mixed system introduced in parliamentary elections is a break from the tradition of the proportional representation system.

The majoritarian election of 31 MPs was backed by the Coalition for Bulgaria, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, the Order, Law and Justice group and eight independents.

Parliament also voted 135-59, with two abstentions, to raise the electoral threshold for all coalitions to 8 per cent from the current 4 per cent. Ataka and Order, Law and Justice were among the groups that backed this amendment.

It was originally proposed that the barrier to parliament for coalitions be raised to 8 per cent for a two-party coalition, and by 1 per cent for every additional party joining the coalition.

Every voter can cast one vote for a majoritarian candidate in a single-member constituency and one vote in the election through candidate lists of parties or coalitions in a multi-member constituency.

The majoritarian candidate who wins the most votes will be considered elected.

As to the allocation of seats in the proportional representation system, the National Assembly replaced the d'Hondt method by the Hare/Niemeyer method, in which the number of seats to be

filled is multiplied by the number of votes won by a party, the result of this calculation is divided by the total number of valid votes, and this gives the number of seats to be allocated to the party.

Angel Naidenov (Coalition for Bulgaria) said the different weight of majoritarian constituencies did not infringe on the eligibility of voters because one majoritarian candidate is eligible in every constituency. He recalled that his group originally proposed that 58 MPs be elected according to the majoritarian system to equalize the weight of the seats, but this motion was not supported.

Marina Dikova (National Movement for Surge and Stability) said the second revoting in the Ad Hoc Committee on Revision of Electoral Legislation on the motion for 31 majoritarian candidates broke the rules of every committee. She spoke in favor of the preferential system, where electors vote for a single candidate but indicate, in declining order, their preferences for the others.

Lyutvi Mestan (Movement for Rights and Freedoms, MRF) said the majoritarian system would have an impact on the return of the bipolar model. The MRF considers a broader application of the

majoritarian system unacceptable and even dangerous, and rejected the motion for 58 majoritarian candidates. It is open to the election of 31 majoritarian candidates because public expectations are so high that politicians cannot turn a deaf ear.

Luchezar Ivanov, an independent, said the proposed system only remotely resembled a majoritarian system. He argued that it would open the way for a two-chamber parliament, which is not enshrined in the Constitution.

Dimiter Abadjiev, an independent who is one of the sponsors of the motion for a higher barrier to parliament for coalitions, said it was made in the name of equality, in line with European practice and as an obstacle to unprincipled coalitions.

Vanyo Sharkov (United Democratic Forces) said the higher barrier to parliament would not strengthen the political system. Compared with post-election coalitions, which are set up to get a hold on power, election coalitions are much more honest because they are made up of parties with similar platforms, he said.

Ekaterina Mihailova (Democrats for Strong Bulgaria) said the proposed election of 31 majoritarian candidates was fraught with inequality because the election would be the same for a constituency of 100,000 voters and of 400,000 voters.

Nikolai Kamov, an independent, said the MPs were forced to choose which of the points agreed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms they can support. He called for the election of half of the MPs - 120 - according to the majoritarian system.

Todor Batilov (Ataka) said that the idea of a majoritarian election of individuals would be distorted by introducing 31 or 58 such candidates.

The Forward Movement group is split on the majoritarian system - some will abstain, while others will vote against. However, all its members will vote against the 8 per cent barrier for coalitions, Krassimir Karakachanov said. He argued that the ruling coalition was trying to win by default, which would not be in the best interests of society.

Source: BTA