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At least three media outlets will be fined for publishing the election results of opinion polls before the end of Election Day. The first three decisions of the Central Electoral Commission are already a fact. They are against pik.bg, dir.bg and blitz.bg. More decisions are pending, the CEC warned after from BSP sent a signal for the results published by “24 Chasa”, “Epicenter”, “PIK”, “Blitz”, “Club Z”, “Dir.bg”, “Maritsa”, “Glasove” and “Dnevnik”.
“We also have signals for the media, which, despite the prohibition in the Electoral Code (EC), publish the results of opinion polls, albeit indirectly. The CEC will also make decisions about them,” warned the spokesperson for the CCA Dimitar Dimitrov.
The first two decisions are posted on the CEC website. One is against Pik.bg, against which 3 signals have been received. Results of consultations in violation of art. 205, para. 5 of the IC. The presentation of the results there is done through the following announcement, which is cited by the CEC: “Traffic to Bankya is the strongest at the moment – 27.4%, travelers to” Positano “are 22.9%, and to Doganovo – 10.5%, 10.3% of the cars have gone to Uchindol and Boykikevo – 5.3%. 5.8% go to Vojvodina and 2.2% to Mareshko. 4.5% went to the village of Galevitsa. “
“Preliminary data on election day are obtained by consulting voters about their vote after leaving the voting table. Therefore, the Central Electoral Commission accepts that in this case the results of the voting in percentages by parties and coalitions are published on the Pik website. Bg are precisely the results of public opinion polls on election day on the occasion of the deputy elections of April 4, 2021, although on the website they are marked as traffic to settlements specific ”- explains the CEC in its decision and adds that” according to the provisions of Article 205, paragraph 5 of the Electoral Code, there is a prohibition to announce the results of public opinion polls in any election 24 hours before the day. of the elections until the end of the electoral day in the country “.
The media can be sanctioned with BGN 2,000 to 5,000 for this violation. Specific decisions by the CEC on the amount of the penalty are forthcoming.
Through its decision, the CEC requires that “the electronic publication immediately remove from the Pik.bg website the published results of opinion polls from the election day voting for deputies on April 4, 2021.”
The second published decision of the CEC is against Blitz.bg. At 11 a.m., the results of the public opinion polls were published there, expressed as percentages in the form of participants in the Rally Bulgaria, through which candidates from parties and coalitions of the elections were targeted. today’s elections. The text quoted by the CCA reads: “Jeep from Borisov – 26.5%, Lada from Ninova – 22.8%, Bus from Karaday – 11.8%, Cadillac from Karakachanov – 5.1%, Hummer from Slavi – 11 , 8%, Bentley from Mareshki and Simeonov – 2.8%, Kostov’s Scooter – 5.7%, Maya’s Train – 5.2% “.
The Central Electoral Commission accepts that in this case the results of the voting in percentages of candidates by parties and coalitions on the Blitz.bg website are precisely the results of public opinion polls on election day on the occasion of the elections of the April 4, regardless of that on the website are marked as participants in the rally “Bulgaria”, says the decision.
The media were also instructed to download the information immediately and also face a fine of between BGN 2,000 and 5,000.
At a briefing today, CEC spokesperson Tanya Tsaneva called on all media: “Do not publish the poll results in advance!” He discovered that, apart from these violations, there were no more serious ones. The second large group refers to the non-compliance of the anti-epidemic measures related to KOVID-19, namely the lack of disinfection of the pens after each voter and the non-compliance of the distance, including queues with voters abroad. An example of a violation in the latter case was in the United Kingdom, where signals were received from the CEC.
