President Parvanov vetoed the Election of National Representatives Act

The President of Republic of Bulgaria returned the Amending Act to the Election of National Representatives Act for further debate, Focus Information Agency reported.

On the grounds of Article 101, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, president
President Parvanov returned the bill of the Amending Act to the Election of National Representatives Act which was adopted by the parliament on April 14, 20009.

The head of the state wants for the members of parliament to review paragraph 3 of the act which amends the change of the election threshold for some of the political players. In the amendment the election threshold for coalitions is raised from 4 to 8 percent, while the threshold for the parties remains unchanged.

"The national election threshold of four percent has been in place for 18 years now, proving its positive effect. It prevents the fragmentation of the parliamentary representation while strengthening the position of the executive (the government). This barrier corresponds to the standards in the voting systems of the EU member states" the letter with the motives for the presidential veto.

Parvanov is also not satisfied with the number of members of parliament, elected with majority voting. However he is not opposing to this text.