Sofia, Bulgaria - October 22, 2024

A group of civil society organizations, led by BOEC, protested through the Ministry of Interior and tried to enter the building to hand over a dismissal order to the minister. They accuse the police of allowing and patronizing the buying of electoral votes for the upcoming elections on Sunday. "With voter turnout critically low, every paid vote will carry more weight and manipulate the democratic will of citizens," organizers say. They published documents proving that the police turn a blind eye to crimes and even "cover" (protect) them. So the activists handed out umbrellas to the police as a symbol of the police patronizing vote buying.

They issued a civil warrant for the Minister of interior Atanas Ilkov dismissal and tried to enter the police building to introduce it. They accuse minister of being a servant of the oligarch Delyan Peevski - a party leader sanctioned under the American "Magnitsky" law.

The protesters called on the politicians from the democratic parties in the country to ally with the citizens and not with the oligarchs to fight the Mafia.

One protester was injured in the ensuing standoff with the police.