For the upcoming Presidential and local elections in Bulgaria in 2011 the Institute for Public Environment Development has launched its website “For Fair Elections.” The address of the site is http://fairelections.eu. One can find it easily through “Google”, when typing the words “for fair elections.”
The main goal of the web-site is to collect signals for violations of the election legislation, sent on-line, through Facebook, Tweeter, e-mail or by phone. These signals will be shown on the Bulgarian map. For each location, where a problem was indicated a text containing the description of the election violation will be displayed. Along with the message, people will be able to upload photos and videos as well.
This for the first time in our country will be provided a reliable source of public monitoring over the election process.
The platform will also collect signals for the Presidential elections from abroad. The Institute for Public Environment Development will further more carry out cooperation with networks of observers and people with experience in international missions, as well as Bulgarians living abroad, who will monitor the election process and will send reliable and credible signals. Our Organization will be registered as an election observer, thus giving an opportunity to volunteers to directly monitor the election process where they live.
The web-site “For Free Elections” is based on the use of the internet program “Ushahidi”, developed in 2007 by a group of volunteers in Kenya. In the last couple of years the program has turned into a powerful tool for public pressure over the institutions. More often the countries and the international organizations themselves are using the platform in order to cooperate more easily and efficiently with the society.
The site is being developed within the project: “Program for Development and Sustainability of the Main Mission Priorities of the Institute for Public Environment Development”. It is supported by the Trust for Civil Society in Central & Eastern Europe.
