Nine arrested in a police operation against vote-buying in Bourgas

Nine people were arrested in several neighbourhoods in the coatsal city of Bourgas as part of the country's first nationwide clampdown on vote-buying for the upcoming 2-in-1 elections on June 9. The operation started early this morning, on May 13.

Seventeen addresses have been searched following 25 alerts to police about vote-buying.

Most of those arrested were involved in trading in shops. The main scheme is products on credit and subsequently debt forgiveness.

The vote buying methods involve debt forgiveness or paying money in exchange for voting for a specified political party or marking a preference for a particular candidate. A vote may "cost" between BGN 50 and BGN 100, the head of the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Bourgas, Senior Commissioner Emil Pavlov, explained.

“At the moment, the lists of names found have been collected as material evidence, for which there is evidence that these very persons will be offered financial rewards to vote for a certain party or a certain candidate," added Head of Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Bourgas, Maria Markova.

Relatives of one of the detainees told the BNT team that he was involved in the distribution of soft drinks and not in vote buying. They added that police had come to their address on other occasions.

Investigators are currently analyzing the evidence to determine whether to file charges against the detainees. The Penal Code provides from 1 to 6 years of imprisonment on conviction for vote buying.

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