Sofia, April 1 (BTA) - In a televised address to the nation
ahead of Sunday's Bulgarian parliamentary elections, President
Rumen Radev said: "On voting day, every one of us, young or old,
 rich or poor, will have an equal say in sealing Bulgaria's
fate, and we should voice it in a well-thought-through, critical
 and informed manner. Those who do not go to the polls will
leave the fate of our Motherland and their loved ones as well as
 their own fate to the unpredictable choice of others. They will
 leave it to controlled and purchased votes, which have been a
sad fact for years."

"Therefore," he said, "I call upon all of you adult Bulgarians:
think, choose, vote. Everything is up to us on Sunday."

"Those whom we trust to manage the public purse will be able to
spend the resources on either protecting or limiting our
freedom. They will largely determine whether we can hear the
truth on the public media, whether we can count on prompt and
real justice, and whether the government will lend us a hand
when we need it," the President said. He noted that it is up to
Bulgarian voters to determine whether their children choose to
stay in Bulgaria or move abroad in their pursuit of happiness,
and whether their grandchildren speak to them in Bulgarian.

Radev said that in the summer of 2020 thousands of Bulgarians
demanded early parliamentary elections, but their wish was
denied with the argument that it is not good to conduct
elections during a pandemic. "Now the time for regular elections
 has come, but the pandemic is still here, and it will persist
for God knows how long. Postponement is not a solution. It is
time we draw the line. It is time for new ideas, new
personalities and new trust in the institutions," he urged.

"Hundreds of thousands of compatriots abroad will again be
unable to vote for the future of Bulgaria, the country where
many of them long to return. But regardless of our
disappointments, once every four years we have a say in the
making of our future," Radev said. RI/VE