site.btaLom Mayor Charged with Vote Buying

The Montana Regional Prosecution Office has charged Lom Mayor Tsvetan Petrov Tsvetanov with an offence against citizens' political rights, the Sofia Appellate Prosecution Office said in a press release on Tuesday.

Judging from evidence taken in the pre-trial proceedings, on April 15, 2026, in the office building of a municipal-owned enterprise in Lom, Tsvetanov, acting in his capacity as a public official, offered a pecuniary benefit of EUR 50 each to employees of the enterprise. According to the prosecution case, the accused sought to induce the employees in question to vote for a particular political coalition and a candidate with a particular preference in the April 19, 2026 parliamentary elections.

On conviction, the accused can be sentenced to two to seven years' imprisonment and a fine ranging from EUR 5,112.92 to EUR 15,338.76.

The prosecution is expected to ask the court to suspend Tsvetanov from office. 

Tsvetanov was elected mayor as a candidate of GERB on October 29, 2023. 

On Facebook, residents of Lom are organizing a protest, calling for the mayor's resignation. The protest is scheduled to take place in front of Lom Town Hall at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.