Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05SOFIA1054
2005-06-13 12:11:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Sofia
Cable title:  

BULGARIA: GOVERNMENT PLAN FOR ELECTION LOTTERY

Tags:  PGOV BU 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SOFIA 001054 

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: GOVERNMENT PLAN FOR ELECTION LOTTERY
STIRS DOMESTIC CONTROVERSY

Ref: (A) SOFIA 1020, (B) SOFIA 1036

UNCLAS SOFIA 001054

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: GOVERNMENT PLAN FOR ELECTION LOTTERY
STIRS DOMESTIC CONTROVERSY

Ref: (A) SOFIA 1020, (B) SOFIA 1036


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A government plan to use a lottery to
boost voter turnout in the June 25 election has stirred
controversy in Bulgaria, drawing criticism towards PM Simeon
Saxe-Coburg's ruling party during the election campaign.
The state-funded lottery - giving out prizes to those who
vote - is unique for Bulgaria and the EU. Ruling party
officials have told us it is a key part of their plan to
boost voter turnout in order to prevent the poll-leading
Socialists from winning an absolute majority. Both leftist
and center-right opposition groups accused the ruling
National Movement for Simeon II (NMSS) of scheming to buy
votes, and attacked the government plan in court. The
provocative TV clips promoting the campaign added to the
controversy as they were largely perceived as politically
incorrect. The government is determined to go ahead with
the plan. END SUMMARY


2. (U) The government plans to award 800,000 levs ($502,510)
worth of prizes -- including one car, cell phones, and
computers -- to people who vote. The remainder of the 4.0
million ($2.5 million) in state election funds allocated for
the plan will be used for an advertising campaign to get out
the vote. Those who wish to participate will have to send a
text message via mobile phone, register on the Internet, or
phone a landline number, submitting their personal
identification number and the number of the voting station.
The lottery will take place after the end of the vote in all
31 electoral regions. Government spokesman Dimitar Tsonev
said the lottery was a legitimate method of raising voter
turnout, used in the U.S., and Britain, although there it
had been organized by non-governmental organizations.

LOTTERY PLAN SPARKS POLITICAL ROW


3. (U) Both leftist and center-right opposition groups
slammed the government idea, saying the NMSS was scheming to
buy votes and using taxpayers' money to raise voter turnout
- which will fit its own political goals. Under Bulgaria's
complex proportional representation system, the ex-king's
party, which relies predominantly on a soft vote, will
benefit from higher turnout while the BSP has a strong core
electorate and will gain more MP seats in case of a lower
turnout (Ref. A, B). The Socialists and two center-right
groups -- the Union of Democratic Forces and the party of
former PM Ivan Kostov -- challenged the government plan

before the Supreme Administrative Court, which has yet to
rule on the issue. They say the lottery is illegal, as
under electoral law only the Central Electoral Commission
(CEC) can organize state-funded campaigns to boost turnout.
The CEC also scolded the government for failing to clear the
campaign with the Commission and withholding details about
its funding. The government did not seek through
competitive bidding a company to manage the lottery
advertising campaign, but instead directly hired the company
currently advising the NMSS election campaign. The
Socialists requested an emergency session of parliament. The
speaker of parliament, a ruling party member, refused to
call the session, which only escalated the political row.


4. (SBU) Senior NMSS officials publicly defended the plan,
but said the party had nothing to do with it as it was a
project initiated and handled by the government. However,
ruling party officials, including campaign chief Lidia
Shuleva, have told us the government campaign to boost
turnout was an important part of the party's strategy to
prevent the Socialists from winning an absolute majority.
The initial idea for the lottery came from a production
company hired for the NMSS' election. The company is known
for producing the Bulgarian versions of "The Big Brother"
and "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" but has no previous
experience in political campaigning. Its chief told us
recently he had not expected the issue to trigger such a
political row.

RULING PARTY GETS NEGATIVE PUBLICITY


5. (U) The provocative TV clips promoting the election
lottery added to the controversy as they came under attack
by the public and NGOs for political incorrectness. One
clip perpetuates a negative stereotype of Bulgaria's Roma
population while another features obscene language. The
clips, which the producers say had been green-lighted
personally by Simeon, had to be remade, deleting the
controversial parts. The lottery controversy drew
predominantly negative press coverage. "The People against
the Election Lotto" read a front-page headline in Standart
newspaper, which ran a poll showing that 70 percent of
Bulgarians were against the lottery. Some sociologists
hailed the idea, saying only something innovative and
provocative could bring the apathetic youth to the polls.


The majority, however, said voters should be motivated
through political and ideological means rather than material
incentives. The Socialists jumped at the opportunity to
exploit the controversy, airing a TV cartoon ridiculing the
lottery plan.


6. COMMENT: The controversy surrounding the election lottery
has hijacked media attention during the first week of the
election campaign, overshadowed NMSS' leaders campaign
activities and drawn predominantly negative coverage.
Although it is not yet clear what the final outcome of the
plan will be, so far it has not helped the NMSS narrow its
gap with the Socialists. Instead, it has put the ex-king's
party in the center of a political and legal row that draws
negative publicity and subjects it to attacks by the
opposition. END COMMENT