site.btaUPDATED 1,080 Alerts Received for Election-Related Violations during This Campaign - Minister

A total of 1,080 alerts for election violations have been received during this campaign, Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov said at a news briefing on Friday. The largest number were in the regions of Burgas, Varna, Montana, Vratsa and Sofia.

He said that for the first time law-enforcers are using actively geographic information systems as a tool to handle alerts in real time. 

There has been a large number of alerts of various violations of electoral law, including illegal campaigning and destruction of property, the Minister said. He said that there were 431 alerts for election-related irregularities during the campaign for the October 2019 local elections. The increase is nearly three times, Stoyanov added. 

The number of pre-trial proceedings that have been opened is 142, with 124 for violation of political rights. In the 2019 campaign, the pre-trial proceedings were only 44.

People have become much more active in reporting possible irregularities, said the Interior Ministry Secretary General, Zhivko Kotsev. 

The schemes for exercising unwarranted influence on voters are well-known: they are promised jobs, to have their debts forgiven, to get cheap firewood in exchange for their votes, the Interior Ministry's Secretary General explained. He said specialized police operations are being carried out daily to curb vote-buying.

Some 15,500 Interior Ministry personnel will take care of security during voting day.