Bulgaria's interior ministry says the elections passed calmly, with no mass or organised vote buying. It will stay on alert until the run-off on 1 November.

"Our interactive map shows that most reports came from north-west Bulgaria and from Burgas region," said chief commissioner Lyubomir Nikolov, who is acting chief secretary of the ministry. There were 242 reports of violations in all. They led to 6 pre-trial proceedings, 2 of them fast-track.

Nikolov said more than 17,000 officers guarded the vote at more than 12,000 polling stations across Bulgaria. Police carried out 192 special operations in the past month, which includes election day. Thousands of officers were on the ground in the last two days.

Despite the reports, Nikolov said, there is no evidence of mass or organised vote buying. These are his first elections as acting chief secretary, and he said he is satisfied that police acted on the many reports.

"We did not see serious attempts to buy votes or to manipulate the vote," said interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev. He believes the problems were clustered in a few towns and villages, where partial local elections were also held. Police detained people there.

The minister thanked the officers on the ground. He said the elections showed the ministry can run a more democratic vote and curb well-known practices.

Demerdzhiev has served as caretaker interior minister in past years too. He said the two cannot be compared, because the ministry then had many reports of violations of citizens' political rights.

The second round is a week away. Demerdzhiev said police will stay vigilant until the elections are fully over, so that no one can manipulate the vote. The gendarmerie is ready to act if needed. Police will keep guarding the regional election commissions and will make sure ballot papers, materials and voting machines are moved safely.