The National Audit Office announced that they did not recommend that municipalities pay only by bank transfer to members of sectional election commissions (SECs), as claimed in media publications, BTA reports.
During audits of the Annual Financial Statements for 2024 of municipalities, the audit institution found violations of their internal rules related to the limitation of cash payments. The announcement also states that the amounts paid for remuneration to members of the Electoral Commission for the elections on June 9, 2024 for members of parliament and members of the European Parliament and on October 27 of the same year for the National Assembly.
The internal rules of the municipalities of Stara Zagora, Dimitrovgrad and Radnevo, approved by order of the mayors, stipulate that cash payments are limited, and all remuneration, with the exception of a few specific cases described (for business trips, bus tickets, etc.), is transferred by bank transfer. When paying for activities related to the 2024 elections, however, the audit team found that the documents lacked declarations from the members of the Electoral Commission certifying that they did not have bank accounts, which, according to the internal rules of the municipalities, constitutes an objective reason for the practical impossibility of paying the remuneration by bank transfer.
Thus, for the 2024 elections, nearly 1.3 million leva were paid in cash for election activities in three municipalities - 173 thousand leva in Radnevo, nearly 690 thousand leva in Stara Zagora and 432 thousand leva in Dimitrovgrad, the Court of Auditors added. The institution has referred the case to the National Revenue Agency (NRA), to which extracts from the three audit reports have been sent.
In response to a request from the National Audit Office, the Municipality of Radnevo provided a Protocol dated November 27, 2025 from the National Revenue Agency for the verification of submitted documents and cross-checks of five persons who participated in the SIC. The protocol confirmed that these persons are indeed members of the SIC and that they received their remuneration in cash, and the inspector of the territorial directorate of the National Revenue Agency has no conclusion on compliance or non-compliance with the regulations.
For the other two municipalities – Stara Zagora and Dimitrovgrad, the NRA's inspection has not yet been completed.
BTA recalls that on April 15, the National Audit Office announced that a total of 130 parties had submitted their annual financial statements and lists of donors for 2025, complying with the requirements for their presentation in the manner provided for by the Political Parties Act.