site.btaPretrial Proceedings Launched for Altering Election Results in Malorad Village

The Vratsa District Prosecution Office has opened pretrial proceedings for a crime against citizens' political rights under Article 169 of the Penal Code, the Sofia Appellate Prosecution Office said on Tuesday. The penalty for that crime is one to five years in prison for an election commission member having altered the election results in any way.

The supervising prosecutor has instructed the investigating body to collect evidence in relation to a check conducted after the police department in Byala Slatina received an alert for tampering with ballot papers. Witnesses will be questioned, including members of the municipal election commission in Borovan and a candidate for municipal councilor, and footage will be requested from the CCTV cameras in the area of the crime.

What is known at this stage is that around 11 pm on election day, October 29, a member of the polling station in the village of Malorad,  Borovan Municipality, altered the results from the vote in the elections for mayor and municipal councilors. A video recording of the counting process shows said member adding preferences on ballots to increase the chances of some local candidates.