30 people have been detained in Bulgaria on suspicion of vote-buying

Bulgarian police have detained 30 people as part of a large-scale operation to combat voter bribery ahead of the early parliamentary elections. 

This was reported by BGNES.

As Deputy Interior Minister Ivan Anchev announced on March 23, 2026, law enforcement officers conducted 51 raids across the country to investigate reports of vote rigging.

The snap elections in Bulgaria are scheduled for April 19 and will be the eighth since 2021 due to prolonged political instability in the country. Preparations for the vote are taking place against the backdrop of the collapse of the coalition led by the GERB party and the government’s resignation in December under pressure from mass protests against budget policies.

A separate factor in the current race is the early resignation of President Rumen Radev, who decided to personally participate in the parliamentary elections. The Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior emphasizes intensified efforts to ensure the fair expression of citizens’ will amid an internal crisis and attempts at external interference by Russia in the region’s democratic processes. Amid the arrests in Sofia, neighboring Moldova is also demonstrating determination in the fight against oligarchic influence, demanding a 25-year prison sentence for Vlad Plahotniuc.

As a reminder, on January 16, Bulgaria announced early parliamentary elections after the latest attempt to form a government failed.

Bulgaria is headingtoward early elections. Bulgaria’s largest party has derailedefforts to form a new government.