site.btaInterior Minister: Return of Paper Ballots Led to Increase in Vote-Buying

The return of the paper ballot in the latest elections on April 2 led to an increase in vote-buying activities, caretaker Minister of Interior Ivan Demerdzhiev said in an interview for Nova TV on Sunday. He specified, however, that his Ministry was prepared, as it made coordinated efforts with all regional directorates to counteract attempts to buy votes.

Demerdzhiev reported that a major political party tried to buy votes in favour of another, smaller party. He specified: "We prevented one such attempt, so [the smaller] party failed to enter parliament". This practice is not a precedent, as at least two political parties that have done it in this and previous elections.

The Minister spoke about an election manipulation phenomenon, where no exchange of money occurs in the classical sense. He said: "It appears that locally sometimes certain people have been in charge for a long time, that all the staff in the civil service there are appointed by them. Sometimes the staff would pay back, when the elections come". The quid pro quo is to have the vote manipulated, so that the election candidate, who got you your job, wins their seat.

The prosecution service in Varna, on the Black Sea, has been approached for electoral fraud. Demerdzhiev warned that despite his Ministry's efforts, there are discontinued proceedings as well as refusals to initiate proceedings. He said: "It is very difficult to demand accountability, because we are going through several institutions, and not all of them are working well enough and in sync. Sometimes attempts are made to obstruct such proceedings by leaking information, by giving witnesses enough time and opportunity to change their testimony".