site.btaInterior Minister: Bulgaria Needs Stable Parliament-Appointed Government

Caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov told BTA that Bulgaria needs "a stable Parliament-elected government". He said that representatives "of nearly all political parties" use vote buying. "This is a phenomenon that is very difficult to eradicate, but I believe the Interior Ministry has made enough efforts and curbed this process as much as possible," he added.

Asked whether the Interior Ministry has managed to reach the people in the top political echelons who have organized vote buying, the minister said that all 100 pre-trial proceedings for vote buying are still ongoing and it is unrealistic to press charges and take the cases to court in such a short time. 

Stoyanov also said there was no increased traffic from Turkey to Bulgaria in the days around the election. This comment answered suspicions about voters from Turkiye travelling in large numbers and in an organized manner to vote in the Bulgarian elections. 

Asked whether he was ready to continue as interior minister, Stoyanov pointed out that after the elections there were two options - to have a caretaker government or a regular one. 

"I am of the opinion that Bulgaria badly needs a stable, regular government that can actually implement the policies and national interests of Bulgaria. I know what I have set as priorities in the Ministry, I believe that my team and myself have the ability to implement them, so from now on there are going to be a lot of talks, between many people, in which I am certainly not involved," the minister said.