Bulgarian Prosecution Seeks to Use Surveillance Devices in Vote-Buying Investigations

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Valeri Parvanov has called for tougher penalties for vote-buying. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian Prosecution cannot use surveillance equipment or undercover agents in investigations of vote-buying, according to Deputy Chief Prosecutor Valeri Parvanov.

In an interview for 24 Hours daily, Parvanov points out that the first condition for using special surveillance devices (SRS) is a grave crime punishable by 5-plus years of imprisonment.

According to him, two years ago penalties for vote-buying were increased to include offences carrying 5-plus jail terms, as in the case of organized crime groups engaged in vote-buying.

Parvanov specifies that the tougher sanctions were introduced in the spring of 2009 through an amendment to the Penal Code.

In his words, the change was aimed, among other things, at green-lighting SRS use in detecting vote fraud.

In order for this to happen, however, the Penal Procedure Code must be amended to add vote-buying to the exhaustive list of crimes that can be investigated through SRS.

"Laws are not drafted by the prosecution. Should the penalties be that minimal? Equal to the sanction for cruelty to vertebral animals? The right to vote is a fundamental value. Penalties must be set so as to keep at bay potential wrongdoers", Parvanov notes.

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