Election Trading Before the Elections: Arrests and New Schemes

Attempts to disrupt election trading for Sunday's vote continue. Two businessmen from the Burgas region have been charged with buying votes in favor of a specific political party. An action against election trading also took place in Ruse, and the Ministry of Interior revealed a new scheme for vote trading through an online payment platform.

The men, who have already been charged with election trading, were arrested in Karnobat. Sr. Commissioner Nikolay Nenkov, Director of the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior-Burgas, announced that the scheme involved offering money, 50 euros per vote for a specific political party.

Six people testified that the two businessmen had offered money in exchange for votes. Maria Markova, Head of the Regional Prosecutor's Office - Burgas, explained that the law provides for a penalty of "deprivation of liberty" from 1 to 6 years and a fine of up to 10,000 euros. Regarding the two individuals, measures for non-departure "house arrest" have been taken.

An action against election trading also took place in Ruse. The police checked 92 addresses, pawn shops, and shops. Seven people were detained. No financial funds were found, but in some cases, notebooks with names and recorded amounts against them were found. The Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Georgi Kandev, announced a new scheme for buying votes. Five people have been detained for online trading through a popular payment platform. During the interrogation, the detainees reveal that they had to open an account in the online platform for each person who wanted to participate, where the amount of 50 euros per vote was paid.