site.btaInterior Ministry Cracks Down on Vote Buying: 160 Police Operations and Counting

To date, there have been 160 police operations and more than 60 pre-trial proceedings, caretaker Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov told journalists here on Tuesday.

A nationwide police operation commenced on September 27, focusing on combating vote-buying, the minister said. The primary goal is to prevent vote selling and buying. Additionally, all officers participating in these operations are addressing other priorities established by the Ministry of Interior, he added.

Ilkov mentioned that during the Interior Ministry's operations, other crimes are also being detected, and all results are reported daily. "How these reports are utilized is another matter entirely," he said. Interior Ministry officials do not ignore any circumstance related to vote buying and selling.

"It is not appropriate to use the Ministry of Interior for election campaigning," Ilkov said, assuring that his Ministry will keep up its current pace of work.