site.btaInterior Ministry Has Significantly Curbed Vote Buying - Minister Dechev

The Interior Ministry has significantly curbed vote buying, caretaker Minister Emil Dechev said in an interview with Nova TV on Sunday. He noted that the efforts of the Ministry and the entire caretaker government have boosted public confidence in the electoral process. “We managed to convince people that it is worth voting, and that it also makes sense to submit alerts to the Interior Ministry,” Dechev added.

Commenting on threats against acting Interior Ministry Secretary General Georgi Kandev, Dechev said this was a sign that Kandev is doing his job well.

Earlier this week, Kandev said that he had received several calls within minutes from hidden numbers via a mobile app and they claimed that people were at the Sofia City Prosecution Office giving false testimony against him. Kandev was also told that the effort was being coordinated by a former Interior Ministry official.

Asked who might possibly threaten the Secretary General, Dechev said that, in his view, it was people “who for at least two decades have believed they are the masters of this country.”

“There are formal institutions that ostensibly carry out their legal functions, but behind them stand other individuals who are not elected by Bulgarian citizens, have no mandate, and bear no visible responsibility. Over these two decades, different political forces have come to power. The term ‘backstage politics’ is not accidental. There is a persistent suspicion that behind publicly elected officials stand others who hold the real power, while those who formally occupy high public posts are not the ultimate decision-makers,” Dechev said.

Dechev confirmed that the threats against Kandev were linked to Svetlozar Lazarov, who served as Secretary General of the Interior Ministry between 2013 and 2015. The Interior Minister also noted that one of the people allegedly involved in giving false testimony against Kandev was ”the owner of a roadside assistance company that receives significant payments from the Bulgarian State, despite having multiple prior convictions that have entered into force.”

Asked about his take on Borislav Sarafov’s resignation as acting Prosecutor General, Dechev said it was ”a very delayed action and an overdue enforcement of the law.”

As to media reports that Constitutional Court judge Desislava Atanasova and Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Delyan Peevski had travelled together on a private plane, the Interior Minister said that his Ministry has no such information. “We have no information that the two travelled together on any aircraft whatsoever,” Dechev noted.

Dechev confirmed that Peevski had used private jets. “The individual has used such flights, but at this stage we have no information on whether those aircraft are his property,” the Minister said. In his words, they may belong to another person. “It begs the question of why that person would so frequently allow these aircraft to be used by this public figure,” he added. Dechev also said it would be appropriate for the Bulgarian National Audit Office to at least assess whether everything has been properly declared by the respective public officials.