The Idea

It was born at the time when Bulgaria, after 45 years of totalitarian government, was getting ready to its first multi-party elections. Despite declarations made by the ruling Socialist (former Communist) Party and the main opposition forces that a stable democratic government should emerge as a result of open, free and fair elections, many Bulgarians expressed anxiety and doubt that the elections would indeed be fair. The uneasiness of the people resulted directly from the unsavory political and psychological heritage of the dictatorship in the conditions of still intact totalitarian party-state structures. Thus the idea of an independent, nonpartisan and objective observation of the elections was accepted with enthusiasm by various circles of the society. The Association turned into a guarantee against fear and mistrust accumulated during the years of the totalitarian rule. The Association’s activities and the carefully planned parallel vote tabulation had to ensure peaceful and legitimate elections. Another task of the Association was to convince the Bulgarian voters and international community of the fairness of the elections.

Founding

The Bulgarian Association of Fair Elections and Civil Rights (BAFECR) was set up in March 1990. The name and activity of Mr. Kevork Kevorkyan, one of the most popular and respected Bulgarian broadcast journalists, who became the president of BAFECR, contributed to the Association’s popularity. Famous personalities, representatives of different political forces and non-partisan citizens formed the Association’s Advisory Council. BAFECR was officially registered by the legal authorities and was politically recognized at the round-table talks - a specific form of negotiations between the ruling party and the opposition during the pre-election period which greatly influenced the executive and legislative power.

REGIONAL CLUB - V.TURNOVO

The club was founded on May,3,1990.It includes more than 100 volunteers.During the past period the club has established itself as the biggest non - governmental organization in the region of Veliko Turnovo.
The following projects have been worked out and realized in practice:

Constitutional rights of citizens.
Citizens and local authorities.
Pre - electoral civic forums.
Civic control over the mechanisms for decision making.
Activation of the regional mass media for civic control and transparency in the activities of the local authorities and the regional administration offices.

The club also maintains a culturally - informative center equipped with modern technical appliances and housing a big library containing a large collection of books.