Fenomen "trgovine glasovima" u Bugarskoj
The "Vote Trading" Phenomenon In Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: The current article looks at the "vote trading" phenomenon in the context of Bulgarian elections and election processes. The historical implementations of this phenomenon are analyzed for the period from the liberation from Turkish rule (1878) up until now. A special attention is paid to the genesis of this occurrence in the period between 1878 and 1944 when its initial implementations for gaining political power begin to appear. There is an emphasis on the first judicial regulations (a law in 1882) that aimed at limiting the spread of "vote trading" in post-liberation Bulgaria. A theoretical analysis is performed on the basic roots and premises of "vote trading" for unveiling the scheme of the basic action axis for implementation of this phenomenon in Bulgaria. In this context it is very important to note the structure of the "vote trading" notion, which consists of three elements: "money seller", consumer of the "service" and "trade" of electoral committees. There is a detailed study of the contemporary "democratic" (after the 1989 political transition) forms, means and tools for vote trading in Bulgaria, while outlining some ways of overcoming this detrimental political phenomenon in our country.

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