site.btaInterior Minister Warns of Fake Euro Plot for Vote Buying

Caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev said he has information that a large amount of counterfeit euros is being prepared for vote buying in the coming days. Speaking on Nova TV on Wednesday, he added that this would effectively allow elections "to be bought without real money". He declined to specify the amount involved at this stage.

According to Dechev, vote buying schemes show considerable creativity and variety, including the use of hair salons, the writing off of shop debts and other methods. “The main problem is that these ugly practices occur in Bulgaria because certain parties believe they can win elections this way,” he said. The processes are so entrenched that there are even attempts to buy the votes of students who have just turned 18, the caretaker minister added.

Commenting on police operations against vote buying, Dechev said there have been successes at the lowest and slightly higher levels.

In a related development, Interior Ministry Secretary General Georgi Kandev told Prime Minister Andrey Gurov on Wednesday that vote buyers will remain the target of the Interior Ministry's attention even after the snap elections this coming Sunday.

Regarding a truck that stopped in the Sofia-bound tube of the Vitinya Tunnel on the Hemus motorway on April 13, Dechev said important questions arise, including why, if the vehicle was able to move on its own, it did not clear the tunnel, and why instead it blocked two lanes.

"We conducted a check, according to the commercial register, the owner is Drama Trans 95, whose owner is an activist of a political party and has previously taken part in elections as a member of a sectional election commission," Dechev said. "I cannot rule out that this may be a political provocation," he added.

"The aim could be to discredit the current caretaker government or possibly certain political forces which, according to the propaganda of some parties, are associated with this government," Dechev suggested.

He also said that a roadside assistance vehicle had been present near the truck and had offered to remove it from the tunnel free of charge. According to the minister, the driver refused and said he would wait for assistance from the city where the transport company owning the truck is based, which would have taken about two hours.

Dechev also called on all Bulgarian citizens to vote in the April 19 parliamentary elections.