Two Businessmen in Burgas District Accused of Vote Buying

Efforts to curb vote buying ahead of Sunday’s election continue, with new arrests and investigations across the country.

Two businessmen from the Burgas region have been charged with offering money in exchange for votes in favour of a specific political party. The men were arrested in Karnobat.

Senior Commissioner Nikolay Nenkov, head of the regional directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Burgas, said the scheme involved offering €50 per vote.

Two businessmen from the Burgas region have been indicted for buying votes in favour of a certain political party.

Six witnesses have testified that they were approached with offers of payment in exchange for their vote.

Maria Markova, head of the District Prosecutor’s Office Burgas, said the offence carries a penalty of one to six years in prison and a fine of up to €10,000. The two suspects have been placed under house arrest.

Separately, a police operation targeting electoral fraud was carried out in Ruse, where officers inspected 92 addresses, pawn shops and retail outlets. Seven people were detained. While no cash was found, notebooks containing names and corresponding sums were seized in some cases.

Authorities also uncovered a new vote-buying scheme involving online payments. Five individuals have been detained for using a popular digital payment platform to facilitate the transactions. According to investigators, voters were offered €50, transferred via accounts set up for them on the platform.