Bulgaria's Government Rejects Misuse-of-Office Claims Before Runoff

The official Facebook page of Bulgaria's Council of Ministers urged people to vote for candidate Iliana Yotova in the presidential election. Responding to the criticism that followed, the government said it must inform the public about its "public position," European Pravda reported.

The government's press service rejected the accusations after presidential candidate Andrey Gyurov and opposition politician Georgi Kandev appealed to the Central Election Commission over alleged violations of the electoral code through the use of administrative resources for campaigning, and after similar claims appeared in the media.

The government's reply

"The responsibility of the government's information service, as well as of the media themselves, is to inform society in a timely and correct way about the public positions and activities of the prime minister and the government. Even if individual journalists or media do not share the prime minister's position, professional standards of journalism require that it be covered accurately and fully," the Council of Ministers said.

The statement refers to an earlier post on the government page that quoted Prime Minister Rumen Radev urging people to vote for Yotova. The government said its information service will continue to report the positions and actions of the prime minister to Bulgarian society and that it trusts conscientious Bulgarian media to do the same.

The runoff

Iliana Yotova, currently acting as head of state, and Andrey Gyurov, the pro-Ukrainian former prime minister, are competing in the presidential election. The second round will take place on Sunday, November 1. Read more in our Politics section.