Specialized police actions against bought votes are being carried out in Sofia, Razgrad, Ruse and Veliko Tarnovo regions before the runoff for president and vice president. In the capital, 16 addresses, 38 people and two cars were checked, 27 protocols were drawn up under the Ministry of Interior Act, and two men were detained.
The operation in Sofia is carried out by the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs together with the General Directorate of the “Gendarmerie“. According to the Director of the State Security Service of the Republic of Bulgaria, Chief Commissioner Nikolay Peltekov, the actions were taken after operational information that the two detainees were preparing to buy votes for the runoff.
At one of the checked addresses, lists of names were found, against which sums and the date of the runoff were indicated, as well as brochures for a certain presidential candidate pair. “Lists of names with the date of the runoff of the presidential vote, sums and brochures for a certain presidential candidate pair were found at the location,“ Peltekov said.
He did not announce the specific amounts and names of the candidates, since pre-trial proceedings have been initiated in the case and procedural and investigative actions are pending. The two men have been detained, but at this point there is no evidence that they bought votes for the elections on October 25.
Checks also in Ruse Region
A police operation has been organized in the Ruse Region against crimes related to the political rights of citizens, as well as against domestic crime. Checkpoints have been set up at key locations, and people, cars, commercial and other facilities are being checked in various settlements.
The control also includes checks of drivers for alcohol and drug use. The regional spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior in Ruse, Daniela Malcheva, stated that the actions will continue with increased intensity until the end of the election process.
„The goal is to prevent violations and crimes, to guarantee the security of citizens and to ensure the lawful conduct of the run-off“, said Daniela Malcheva.Nine detained in Veliko Tarnovo region
During a specialized operation in the Veliko Tarnovo region, nine people were detained for up to 24 hours, and one was brought in as a defendant. The checks covered all regional departments in the region with the assistance of the Zonal Gendarmerie Department in Ruse.
31 crimes were uncovered during the operation. Six quick proceedings have been opened for possession of narcotics, two pre-trial proceedings for other crimes and 13 files.
Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said that there are signals of an attempt to generate votes in support of one of the presidential candidate couples. “Let us prove that the second round can also take place democratically, without the use of such practices“, he urged.
The SDVR announced that checks in Sofia will continue daily until the elections, without announcing in advance the locations of the police actions.