site.btaPresident Radev: Election Results Caused Tension instead of Calming Society Down

Commenting on the October 27 snap general elections, President Rumen Radev Thursday said that the official results' announcement, instead of calming the public down, has caused tension and raised questions about the fairness of the vote. "How is it possible that the multiplying alerts and examples of vote buying and manipulation are visible to everyone but remain outside the attention of the responsible institutions? Are state bodies being used as a bludgeon against mayors and businesses to rig votes? Has the criminal contingent been harnessed to get votes? Who are the political forces and who are the political leaders using such ugly practices?" Radev asked.

The head of State said he expects convincing answers from the caretaker government, particularly the Interior Ministry, and the security services. "Bulgarian citizens have the right to know in whose interest their institutions are working and whether someone is infiltrating the National Assembly through vote-buying, threats and racketeering," Radev added. "There can be neither bought nor forced democracy. If we accept this as normal, it means that we have given up the very idea of people's rule," he argued.