By April 22, the Sofia City Prosecution Office reported opening a total of 166 election-related case files in response to allegations concerning the handling of cases involving individuals with immunity. Caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov stated that 72 parliamentary candidates holding immunity have been implicated in vote-buying allegations; however, no immunity has been revoked for these individuals. Of the 166 case files, seven have resulted in pre-trial proceedings, nine were transferred to other prosecution offices due to jurisdictional issues, and 96 were assigned for review.
In other instances, supervising prosecutors have requested materials for further review of the case files. A significant number of files awaiting review were submitted with documentation from previously completed checks. As of April 22, 68 case files were closed with a refusal to initiate pre-trial proceedings.
The prosecution noted that many of the closed files originated from the Ministry of Interior and concluded there was insufficient evidence of a crime against political rights or any other offense. Furthermore, a large proportion of these closed files were based on anonymous reports, the information from which was checked but not confirmed. The office emphasized that investigations are ongoing, and the lifting of immunity requires the collection of sufficient evidence.
Historically, the
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Accountability must be established regardless of any granted immunity status.
What specific types of election violations are being investigated in these 166 case files?