Vote-buying and other alleged irregularities on election-day - report
Throughout election day, Bulgarian media reported a seemingly endless stream of violations and irregularities, ranging from reports about vote-buying and voting tourism with or without valid documents, to one address in Sofia where 1000 voters were registered.
The address in Sofia, on Iskar str, was said to have been uninhabitable for years. At another address, also in Sofia, 200 voters were said to have been registered.
Both cases have been reported to the Central Election Commission (CEC) by Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), Bulgarian daily Dnevnik said.
Yane Yanev, leader of the Order Law and Justice (OLJ) party, was quoted by Dnevnik as saying that as many as 20 per cent of the Bulgarian electorate had sold their vote and that the corporate vote was widespread.
GERB, meanwhile, filed a complaint with the prosecution against the mayor of the village of Ledenik, Marin Kafadarov, accusing him of vote-buying for the OLJ. According to GERB, Kafadarov had offered 25 leva a vote. With the complaint, the party had also filed a video recording of a woman who, pointing at the number 1 position on the ballot, said the mayor had instructed her to vote for the party at this number. The party listed at the number one position on voting ballots for the 2009 parliament elections was the OLJ.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party had filed three complaints about vote-buying against GERB, Dnevnik said.
Reports about irregularities came not only from political parties.
A reader of Dnevnik had reported that in the village of Doganovo, around 30 km south-east of Sofia, Roma allegedly suddenly shopped with 50-leva banknotes on election-day. A local supermarket owner was quoted as calling it unprecedented. According to the report, the supermarket owner had said that many villagers suddenly shopped with large banknotes, while they normally shopped on credit or with small money.
In [[map:Velingrad|Velingrad, Bulgaria|]], Roma in the Roma borough of Anezitsa, were quoted by Dnevnik as saying that vote-buying had started two days before the elections, when three men were said to have handed out 15 leva a person to voters, promising them more money if they would vote for the Movement for Rights and Freedom (MRF).
The Citizens Coalition for Free and Democratic Elections reported that in Turgovishte, free sandwiches had been handed out to voters with a sticker saying "Number 2", the position of the coalition of LIDER with New Time.
In villages in the Kardjali region, members of election commissions working in the polling stations spoke only Turkish, observers of the Citizens Initiative for Free and Democratic Elections, reported. As a result, only a polling station representative of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms that is traditionally supported by the Turkish minority in Bulgaria, could understand what was being said, the organisation said.
In some villages, heads of polling stations were said to have opened ballots.
Cameras were said to have been found in one polling station in Kurdjali, Dnevnik said.
Several NGOs reported irregularities with documents that would allow people to vote in a different city from the one in which they were registered.
Some documents shown were said to be photocopies, others were not filled in correctly or were missing required stamps from the municipality that issued the document, Dnevnik quoted the Citizens for a Free and Democratic Choice as saying.
According to observers, large groups of voters were being transported through the country. Voters from Vratsa were reportedly taken to Vidin and Pleven, while those from Pleven were taken to Byala near Rousse, and voters from Blagoevgrad and Pernik were said to have been taken to Kyustendil to vote.
Between six and eight buses with voters were said to have arrived in [[map:Kyustendil|Kyustendil, Bulgaria|]] to vote. Allegedly, the buses were on excursion trips to the Rila Monastery.
In the village of [[map:Dragichevo|Dragichevo, Bulgaria|]], around 50 voters were said to have arrived in buses from [[map:Satovche|Satovche, Bulgaria|]], [[map:Vratsa|Vratsa, Bulgaria|]] and [[map:Pancherevo|Pancherevo, Bulgaria|]] to vote, village mayor Rositsa Stoyanova was quoted by Dnevnik as saying.
GERB said four buses with [[map:Yambol|Yambol, Bulgaria|]] registration plates and around 150 passengers, had arrived in [[map:Pazardjik|Pazardjik, Bulgaria|]] to vote.
In the [[map:Rouse|Rouse, Bulgaria|]] region, and especially in the town of [[map:Byala|Byala, Bulgaria|]], hundreds of voters from [[map:Turgovishte|Turgovishte, Bulgaria|]], [[map:Popovo|Popovo, Bulgaria|]] and [[map:Gorna Oryahovitsa|Gorna Oryahovitsa, Bulgaria|]] had arrived, Milena Hinkova of the Regional Election Commission was quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA as saying.
According to Hinkova, hundreds of voters had arrived in the village of [[map:Botrov|Botrov, Bulgaria|]], where polling stations were said to have run out of forms to register voters from elsewhere.
The address in Sofia, on Iskar str, was said to have been uninhabitable for years. At another address, also in Sofia, 200 voters were said to have been registered.
Both cases have been reported to the Central Election Commission (CEC) by Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), Bulgarian daily Dnevnik said.
Yane Yanev, leader of the Order Law and Justice (OLJ) party, was quoted by Dnevnik as saying that as many as 20 per cent of the Bulgarian electorate had sold their vote and that the corporate vote was widespread.
GERB, meanwhile, filed a complaint with the prosecution against the mayor of the village of Ledenik, Marin Kafadarov, accusing him of vote-buying for the OLJ. According to GERB, Kafadarov had offered 25 leva a vote. With the complaint, the party had also filed a video recording of a woman who, pointing at the number 1 position on the ballot, said the mayor had instructed her to vote for the party at this number. The party listed at the number one position on voting ballots for the 2009 parliament elections was the OLJ.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party had filed three complaints about vote-buying against GERB, Dnevnik said.
Reports about irregularities came not only from political parties.
A reader of Dnevnik had reported that in the village of Doganovo, around 30 km south-east of Sofia, Roma allegedly suddenly shopped with 50-leva banknotes on election-day. A local supermarket owner was quoted as calling it unprecedented. According to the report, the supermarket owner had said that many villagers suddenly shopped with large banknotes, while they normally shopped on credit or with small money.
In [[map:Velingrad|Velingrad, Bulgaria|]], Roma in the Roma borough of Anezitsa, were quoted by Dnevnik as saying that vote-buying had started two days before the elections, when three men were said to have handed out 15 leva a person to voters, promising them more money if they would vote for the Movement for Rights and Freedom (MRF).
The Citizens Coalition for Free and Democratic Elections reported that in Turgovishte, free sandwiches had been handed out to voters with a sticker saying "Number 2", the position of the coalition of LIDER with New Time.
In villages in the Kardjali region, members of election commissions working in the polling stations spoke only Turkish, observers of the Citizens Initiative for Free and Democratic Elections, reported. As a result, only a polling station representative of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms that is traditionally supported by the Turkish minority in Bulgaria, could understand what was being said, the organisation said.
In some villages, heads of polling stations were said to have opened ballots.
Cameras were said to have been found in one polling station in Kurdjali, Dnevnik said.
Several NGOs reported irregularities with documents that would allow people to vote in a different city from the one in which they were registered.
Some documents shown were said to be photocopies, others were not filled in correctly or were missing required stamps from the municipality that issued the document, Dnevnik quoted the Citizens for a Free and Democratic Choice as saying.
According to observers, large groups of voters were being transported through the country. Voters from Vratsa were reportedly taken to Vidin and Pleven, while those from Pleven were taken to Byala near Rousse, and voters from Blagoevgrad and Pernik were said to have been taken to Kyustendil to vote.
Between six and eight buses with voters were said to have arrived in [[map:Kyustendil|Kyustendil, Bulgaria|]] to vote. Allegedly, the buses were on excursion trips to the Rila Monastery.
In the village of [[map:Dragichevo|Dragichevo, Bulgaria|]], around 50 voters were said to have arrived in buses from [[map:Satovche|Satovche, Bulgaria|]], [[map:Vratsa|Vratsa, Bulgaria|]] and [[map:Pancherevo|Pancherevo, Bulgaria|]] to vote, village mayor Rositsa Stoyanova was quoted by Dnevnik as saying.
GERB said four buses with [[map:Yambol|Yambol, Bulgaria|]] registration plates and around 150 passengers, had arrived in [[map:Pazardjik|Pazardjik, Bulgaria|]] to vote.
In the [[map:Rouse|Rouse, Bulgaria|]] region, and especially in the town of [[map:Byala|Byala, Bulgaria|]], hundreds of voters from [[map:Turgovishte|Turgovishte, Bulgaria|]], [[map:Popovo|Popovo, Bulgaria|]] and [[map:Gorna Oryahovitsa|Gorna Oryahovitsa, Bulgaria|]] had arrived, Milena Hinkova of the Regional Election Commission was quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA as saying.
According to Hinkova, hundreds of voters had arrived in the village of [[map:Botrov|Botrov, Bulgaria|]], where polling stations were said to have run out of forms to register voters from elsewhere.