site.btaInterior Minister Dechev Links Spike in Election Reports to Public Trust

A 652% rise in reports of election violations ahead of the April 19, 2026 vote, compared with the October 27, 2024 election, was a sign of growing public trust in the Interior Ministry’s new leadership, caretaker Minister of the Interior Emil Dechev said on Tuesday.

Dechev spoke after meeting the senior staff of the Plovdiv Regional Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior, with Deputy Interior Minister Kaloyan Kaloyanov and acting Secretary General Georgi Kandev also taking part.

“Everywhere we keep repeating that we want brave, energetic and proactive work, but always within the law, with equal treatment and uncompromising action against all perpetrators of election crimes. Non-governmental organizations, investigative journalists and active citizens who submit reports of election violations or crimes are our allies,” Dechev said.

Twenty days before this year’s election, reports of election violations were up 652% compared with the previous vote. So far, 128 records have been drawn up, compared with just 17 two years earlier. One pre-trial investigation has been opened, while none were registered in 2024. So far, the Plovdiv Regional Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior has received 18 reports, compared with only five in 2024.

Dechev added that he would visit all regional directorates of the Ministry of the Interior before the April 19, 2026 vote as part of efforts to guarantee prevention and effective investigation of crimes against citizens’ political rights. “So far, we have managed to visit 15 regional directorates. Pazardzhik is next, and before April 19 I will have visited all regional directorates to meet their entire management teams,” he said.

Kandev told reporters in Plovdiv that, after information was received, a specialized police operation was carried out in the town of Byala Slatina. Officers found more than EUR 10,000, in EUR 50 and EUR 100 banknotes intended to be handed out to people to vote for a particular political party, in the car of a person named in the tip-off. The District Prosecutor’s Office was informed, expedited police proceedings were opened, and the investigation was ongoing.