The Council for Electronic Media (CEM) condemned the use of hate speech in the campaign for Bulgaria’s October 25 presidential election at its meeting on Thursday. CEM discussed statements made by vice-presidential candidate Atanas Stefanov during his appearance on a Bulgarian National Television (BNT) morning programme on October 2.
On air, Stefanov made anti-Semitic remarks, used hate speech targeting people based on their ethnic background or sexual orientation, and verbally attacked Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil. CEM promptly referred the violations to the Central Election Commission (CEC). On October 5, the commission adopted a decision establishing an Election Code violation and authorizing one of its members to draw up an administrative offence report.
CEM Chair Gabriela Naplatanova presented two letters from BNT’s management, in which the public broadcaster condemned such statements and said it would take specific measures to ensure compliance with standards of good conduct and the requirements of the Election Code and the Radio and Television Act.
Naplatanova stressed that hate speech would not be tolerated on media broadcasts. She supported the possibility of cutting short appearances of candidates who behave inappropriately on media programmes.
The four CEM members also took a stand.
Kadrinka Kadrinova said it is unacceptable to use hate speech during an election campaign.
Prolet Velkova opined that the incident was deliberate. The spread of hate speech and discriminatory statements should be curbed by all available legal means in every media outlet, particularly public media, she said, noting journalists’ and media outlets’ efforts to ensure compliance with standards of good conduct.
Galina Georgieva said amendments to the Election Code were needed to prevent similar incidents. She said she viewed the letters from BNT management as a call for assistance and agreed with Velkova about the efforts to uphold standards of good conduct.
Simona Veleva said Stefanov’s statements were unacceptable on public media. She recalled that freedom of expression does not cover speech that incites hatred or creates divisions among citizens on religious, ethnic or other grounds. In her view, media outlets can and should cut short such statements.
The council adopted an interim report by its Monitoring and Analysis Directorate on its specialized monitoring of the presidential election campaign. It covers 45 media outlets, including public and private radio and television programmes and online platforms. It began on September 25 and will continue through October 25, or November 1 in the event of a runoff.
According to the report, the CEC has so far been notified of eight possible Election Code violations. CEM monitoring has found that representatives of parties with more limited public influence tend to use aggressive and hostile language in their media appearances.
The council also published a position on its website condemning hate speech in the election campaign. It condemned Stefanov’s use of anti-Semitic, homophobic and other offensive language. CEM said it upholds candidates’ equal access to public media during the campaign and supports their right to take immediate editorial action against hostile and discriminatory statements made during live broadcasts on BNT and Bulgarian National Radio.
CEM Condemns Hate Speech in Presidential Election Campaign 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-08 13:04:42
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