site.btaNearly 150 Persons Detained over Suspected Election Violations

November 18 (BTA) - One hundred and forty-four persons were detained for suspected election violations, Stanimir Stanev, head of the National Police General Directorate, said here on Thursday.

As part of its countrywide operation, the police raided over 4,500 sites, including some 2,000 offices of loan companies and pawnshops, and checked some 8,000 persons and 700 leaders of local communities. Another 1,400 companies were checked for suspected vote buying among employees. A total of 122 pre-trial proceedings were launched, Stanev said.

Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov argued that the GERB-UDF coalition and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) are the "record holders" in vote buying, according to police data. In his words, when the police do their work, GERB-UDF and MRF call it repression. GERB-UDF and MRF were in an undisclosed partnership with each other, Rashkov told the media.

"For days, one party attempted to speculate over the fairness of the elections. We all witnessed the behavior of some Turkish authorities", Rashkov said and argued that such actions can be defined as interference. In a Turkish television reportage and some publications, there had been callings for voting and even a comment that "a Turk is running for president of Bulgaria for the first time", Rashkov argued.

He was referring to Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Mustafa Karadayi, who ranked third in the presidential elections with 11.6 per cent of the votes.

A number of evidences, including money and a filled-out voting machine protocol, were found in a private home during one of Wednesday's police raids, as the documents served to prove that the votes were in favour of MRF, Rashkov added. This proves that the money was paid after the elections. The person behind this was candidate for parliament from Elin Pelin (Western Bulgaria, near Sofia). A few persons have been questioned before a judge and have confirmed that they had been bribed by the same parliamentary candidate, Rashkov also said.

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Deputy Director of Border Police Chief Directorate, Svetoslav Manolov, stressed that there are more refugees, attempting to enter Bulgaria, mainly from Turkey and Greece. Hundreds of Interior Ministry employees and military members were sent to the borders to control the migrant pressure. One hundred and sixty-two pre-trial proceedings were opened and over 170 persons were detained for smuggling, Manolov said. /DD/KK