site.btaMore Arrested for Electoral Crimes on Friday

Thirty-eight people were detained during Friday's specialized police operation in Blagoevgrad Region, acting Secretary General of the Interior Ministry Georgi Kandev told a news briefing here on Friday evening. The operation covered not only crimes against citizens' political rights but also the whole Penal Code.

Caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev and the head of the Blagoevgrad Regional Directorate of the Interior, Chief Commissioner Iliya Touparov, also took part in the briefing. 

Touparov specified that in Petrich, two were detained and nine fast-track proceedings were launched. Two pre-trial proceedings were initiated in Sandanski and Gotse Delchev, respectively. The police teams found only lists of names, no money during the searches, he said in reply to a journalist's question.

Minister Dechev told journalists that there is a clear upward trend in the population's trust in the Interior Ministry at the moment. Earlier in the day, he told the media that the number of citizen reports of electoral crimes has increased several times. Over a very short period, the Interior Ministry leadership has managed to convince people that it is worthwhile to submit reports of electoral crimes, Dechev commented. Consequently, this has led to a several-fold increase in the number of pretrial proceedings opened for crimes against the political rights of citizens related to elections, and the number of citizens who have been not only charged but also detained has increased several times, by several hundred percent," emphasized the caretaker Interior Minister. 

At the briefing on Friday evening, Dechev presented statistics on the alerts received, the pre-trial proceedings launched, and the number of detained for electoral crimes 23 days before the April 19 snap parliamentary elections. Compared to the data 23 days before the previous parliamentary elections in October 2024, the number of alerts received grew by 700%, from 64 in 2024 to 510 at the moment. The number of pre-trial proceedings grew by 450%, from 30 before the previous general elections to 165 now. Those detained numbered 18 before the previous elections, compared to 84 now. 

Kandev made a comparison with the current data and those 23 days before the elections of autumn 2024 for Blagoevgrad Region. Thus far, 20 alerts for violations have been received by the Blagoevgrad Directorate of the Interior, compared to a single alert before the October 2024 elections. Pre-trial proceedings for electoral crimes number 4, compared to zero before 23 days before the previous parliamentary elections. Four have been detained thus far, compared to zero before the previous elections.

Earlier on Friday, the Regional Directorate of the Interior in Burgas (on the Danube) reported that thirteen individuals had been checked in Karnobat Municipality, eight of whom were detained during a specialized police operation dubbed “Vote Buying”. Six pre-trial proceedings have been initiated against five individuals. Five of the cases concern crimes related to citizens’ voting rights, while one case involves drug possession. Over EUR 13,000 in EUR 50 and EUR 100 banknotes were found in one of the detainees. The banknotes were seized, along with lists of names and corresponding sums of money. In others, authorities found a gas pistol, photographs of other people’s identity cards, as well as personal and debit cards along with name lists. Four individuals who had either received or been promised money to vote for a specific party have been questioned. During the operation, a search of an address also uncovered more than 20 small packets of high-risk cannabis-type substances, as well as cannabis seeds intended for growing marijuana. Work on the cases is ongoing.