site.bta807 Alerts Received, 116 Arrests Made for Election Irregularities 19 Days Ahead of Polling Day

With 19 days to go before polling day, 807 alerts about election irregularities have been received, up from 109 for the like period ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, acting Interior Ministry Secretary General Georgi Kandev said during a hearing at an extraordinary National Assembly sitting on Wednesday.

As many as 218 investigations were launched this March, compared to 43 in 2024, and 116 arrests were made, against 116 in 2004. A total of 1,958 individuals were cautioned, up from 444 in 2024, Kandev added.

The Secretary General reported that so far the figures are between 300 and 600 percentage points higher than in 2024. Fewer raids have been carried out, however - 140 compared to 146 in 2004. "With less resources, we achieve multiple better results," Kandev said.