Bulgaria's interior ministry has sent prosecutors files on public tenders for road guardrails, interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev says. The case centres on how a large sum of public money was spent when the contracts were awarded.

The ministry is checking two things, he explained. Besides the money, it wants to know whether the guardrails already put up have the right certificates, whether they were tested and whether they meet the required standards. Pre-trial proceedings have been opened, and the checks are still going on.

More than 96% of the guardrail contracts have gone to the same four companies, the minister said. He said party officials stand directly behind some of these firms. One more contract won by the same companies has now been cancelled under the current government.

"I hope prosecutors work on these files as fast as they worked on tip-offs about other politicians. I expect the same standard," Demerdzhiev said. He added that fixing these bad practices in public procurement is one of the ministry's main goals.

The interior ministry is also getting ready for the presidential election. Demerdzhiev said the ministry has the experience it needs to do the job and guarantee people's political rights.

The ministry's top officials held a national meeting, the relevant agencies held a coordination meeting, and regional units have been given specific tasks. Police are watching groups suspected of activity that could pose a risk to the public, so they can be spotted and stopped early.