Bulgaria's President Questions Integrity of Election Results Amid Concerns of Vote Manipulation

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev expressed that democracy cannot be bought or imposed, warning that accepting such practices would signify a surrender of democratic principles. His comments were made in response to the early parliamentary election results and were disseminated by his press office.

Radev noted that rather than providing reassurance to the public, the official election results have created tension and raised concerns regarding the integrity of the electoral process. He posed several critical questions, questioning the apparent disregard from responsible institutions towards reports of purchased and manipulated votes.

He further inquired whether state authorities have been misused to coerce mayors and businesses into compliance with vote-gathering efforts, and who is behind such unethical practices. The president is demanding clear answers from the caretaker government, particularly from the Ministry of the Interior and security services.