Bulgarian president warns of election fraud ahead of upcoming vote

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev warned police and prosecutors of widespread electoral fraud, pointing to problems in the investigations into vote-buying schemes ahead of the parliamentary elections due on 27 October.

Radev spoke of a "double standard" in investigations into criminal vote-buying schemes, hinting that some political parties are not being investigated like others.

"What is important for a society to show that it is truly democratic is fairness, and fairness means, first of all, an equal approach by law enforcement authorities to all those who have broken the law, not just some of them," Radev said.

Over the past two months, Bulgaria's anti-corruption commission has arrested several people close to the honorary leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Ahmed Dogan.

At the same time, investigators seem to be ignoring reports against MRF’s New Beginning faction led by the US-sanctioned lawmaker Delyan Peevski, who triggered a split within the party in July and August 2024.

"Our society has witnessed numerous signals and publications about bought and corporate votes, and specific names have emerged," Radev added.

Asked if he saw any shortcomings in the work of the special services against vote-buying, Radev said yes, adding that this was why he was convening a meeting of all responsible institutions.

"The most important thing right now is to ensure the fairness of the vote so that citizens gain confidence and return to the polls because they are currently being turned away from the polls," he explained.

A few days ago, the pro-European party Yes Bulgaria handed over 200 specific names of "big vote-buyers" across the country to the police and prosecutors, which they claim were linked to Peevski.

Former Yes Bulgaria MP Ivaylo Mirchev has publicly claimed that the dependence of the prosecutor’s office and the Interior Ministry on Peevski was "obvious".

Meanwhile, MEP and ALDE co-chair Ilhan Kyuchyuk (Renew Europe/MRF) has sent a letter to all European institutions, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the European Prosecutor General Laura Kövesi, about the numerous reports of vote-buying in Bulgaria.

Kyuchyuk claims that Bulgaria is witnessing an "open instrumentalisation of state institutions in favour of one party - Delyan Peevski's New Beginning".

Euractiv Bulgaria asked New Beginning to comment on the allegations of "instrumentalisation of state institutions" in favour of its party but did not receive a response by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)