(7 Aug 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sofia, Bulgaria – 7 August 2024
1. Various of people on streets of Sofia
2. Various exteriors of new Bulgarian Parliament
3. Saint Sofia statue, framed by traffic lights and security cameras.
4. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Plamena Ignatova, Political Analyst at Club Z:
“The political processes are intriguing because first the election itself presupposes a new situation and it is not correct to say that we will see more of the same, and the last elections proved it.”
5. Close of Bulgarian emblem at the office of Bulgarian President
6. Various of honour guards, standing in front of Bulgarian Presidency
7. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Plamena Ignatova, Political Analyst at Club Z:
“What is happening right now is that within just this short period from the previous elections to now – only two months – we have a leadership breakdown in the two oldest, most systematic parties in Bulgaria – BSP and MRF. So this will largely presuppose both the outcome and the possible configurations after the election, which is shaping up to be in October.”
8. Various of people walking in downtown Sofia
9. Close of sculpture at Bulgarian government headquarters
10. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Plamena Ignatova, Political Analyst at Club Z:
“What will be the outcome of the upcoming elections, only that it may turn out to be quite unpredictable for another reason – the reason is that in Bulgaria the most important political players are actually the secret services, the office of the prosecutor general and the Interior Ministry, no matter how strange that sounds.”
11. Sticker of Boyko Borissov, leader of GERB party, on a road sign in downtown Sofia
12. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Plamena Ignatova, Political Analyst at Club Z:
“Now the issue is internal politics. It depends whether the parties conduct a clean, fair campaign this time, and declare with whom they would govern and what the formula will be, or do they plan to draw red lines and wage defamation wars, as it has happened until now.”
13. Woman walks past Bulgarian flags
STORYLINE:
Bulgaria’s political crisis is set to deepen, according to an analyst, as the country heads for early elections – the seventh vote in just over three years.
Of the six elections since 2021, only two have produced an elected government, but they both collapsed after trying to introduce reforms, take on graft, and cut off the country’s energy and security reliance on Russia.
The latest, held in June, failed to produce a clear winner, but a fragmented legislature of seven parties was unable to cobble together a viable coalition.
Bulgaria has been gripped by political instability since 2020, when nationwide protests erupted against corrupt politicians that had allowed oligarchs to take control of state institutions.
Plamena Ignatova, a political analyst at the influential media outlet Club Z, considers the behind-the-scenes players to be still an obstacle to overcoming the political crisis.
She believes that despite the expected outcome the results may turn out to be quite unpredictable.
“The reason is that in Bulgaria the most important political players are actually the secret services, the office of the prosecutor general and the Interior Ministry, no matter how strange that sounds,” she said.
“It depends whether the parties will conduct a clean, fair campaign this time, and declare with whom they would govern and what the formula will be, or do they plan to draw red lines and wage defamation wars, as it has happened until now,” Ignatova added.
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