„Yes, Bulgaria“ is currently preparing a series of reports regarding vote-buying and corporate voting during the early parliamentary elections on October 27. The news was shared on social media by Ivaylo Mirchev less than an hour ago. He also revealed that after the constitution of the 51st National Assembly, „Yes, Bulgaria“ will insist on the establishment of a special parliamentary committee to investigate the abuses during the elections. We’d like to publish Mirchev’s post without editorial interference:
„10 steps that we (the members of ‘Yes, Bulgaria!’) have already taken and will take.“
- More than a month ago, we were the first to publicly name the thugs with nicknames who are preparing to buy votes for Peevski.
- We revealed the meetings at the „Marinela“ hotel between Peevski’s lieutenants and the major vote buyers.
- We submitted a series of reports against a total of 363 vote buyers from the criminal underworld (reports to the Ministry of Interior, the prosecutor’s office, SANS, and President Radev) with specific names, nicknames, and protectors.
- We organized the network of election observers from „You Count“ across the country and Turkey once again, which served as a deterrent to some electoral fraud.
- We publicly revealed the exact scheme by which the Ministry of Interior provides cover for the vote buyers of „MRF – New Beginning“, including ID numbers, mobile phones, and car registration numbers.
- Following our revelations, we were the first to demand the resignation of the Minister of Interior for serving Peevski and working against the national interest.
- We are currently preparing a package of reports from across the country that have been submitted to us so far.
- We are finalizing the analysis of the high-risk polling stations, which we will also present soon (where there are brutal examples of manipulation).
- We will initiate a parliamentary committee to investigate all reports of vote-buying, to hear witnesses, civil organizations, and to provide conclusions by the end of the year that will become public and be forwarded to the relevant institutions. The reason for this committee is that the other institutions are not functioning.
- We call on the Central Election Commission to conduct a control count (i.e., a new tally of all ballots) before making the decision to announce the final results.
The request to annul the elections will be made before the Constitutional Court. I will support any well-argued request with attached evidence. However, bought and controlled voting is deterred before, not after, the elections. That is exactly why we acted before the elections, not after them. In most cases, it is impossible to prove that someone cast their ballot because they were paid or coerced. It is possible to challenge unaccounted or tampered ballots and protocols.
However, we must understand that opposing vote-buying and controlled voting happens BEFORE the vote. That is why, based on our revelations and information from Bulgarian informants and our party members, we publicized hundreds of vote buyers, reported to the Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Interior, and SANS four times, and even called for the resignation of the Minister of Interior. But the institutions were inactive and provided cover for the buyers.
Political parties act with political means. Therefore, we continue our fight against vote-buying with our initiative for a sanitary cordon against Peevski in parliament—to limit his influence in power and prevent entire institutions and parties from becoming dependent on his destructive and behind-the-scenes toxicity. This influence is also supported by this bought and controlled vote.
Three important details:
- It is naive to expect that the Constitutional Court, under the control of Peevski and Cholakov (Head of the Supreme Administrative Court), will respond adequately and fairly to the election case.
- The declaration we propose to the other parties in parliament is not just a piece of paper. It includes specific legislative initiatives and a precise timeline for their adoption, including changes to the „Anti-Money Laundering Measures Act,“ specifically targeting individuals sanctioned under the Magnitsky A All of this is to be adopted before Christmas.
- Challenging the election results before the Constitutional Court is ideal for Peevski, as it will both validate the results and allow him to exploit all other issues, leading to further destabilization.