People holding public positions are trying to influence the election process in an unlawful manner. This was stated at a briefing in Ruse by the acting Minister of the Interior Emil Dechev.
He also gave specific examples with a mayor of a settlement in Northwestern Bulgaria and a deputy mayor of a border town.
„We have a case in Northwestern Bulgaria, where a mayor of a settlement is distributing social benefits provided by a foundation, and in the respective envelope are also placed election brochures of a political party participating in the election process now. Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated in this case. There is another case in which a deputy mayor of a border town offers a person to participate in vote buying, offering him a certain amount of money to be given to each person who agrees to sell their vote, and at the same time gives him an offer on how much money to keep for himself“, noted Emil Dechev, quoted by BTA.
He added that the Ministry of Interior will be uncompromising – no matter who the perpetrators of crimes are and what position they hold.
„Before the law, everyone is equal. The law does not distinguish whether someone is a mayor or an ordinary citizen“, the acting Minister of Internal Affairs also said.
He noted that he was in Ruse together with Deputy Minister Kaloyan Miltenov and the acting Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Chief Commissioner Georgi Kandev, as part of the tour and meetings with the management of all regional directorates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the country.
„For us, these meetings are extremely important, because a live conversation is much more valuable than the messages we transmit through television and radio interviews, as well as through other channels. What we notice is increased public trust in the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is clearly seen from the statistics on the reports filed for crimes committed against the political rights of citizens from Art. 167 to Art. 169d of the Criminal Code“, Minister Dechev also said.
He reported that the signals are several hundred percent more compared to those filed in October 2024, which in turn leads to more pre-trial proceedings, more detainees and more warning protocols.