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Description
Political corruption in the elections is the intersection, where the interdependencies between politicians, the private sector and the underworld meet. Over the last 30 years vote-buying and doubts about rigged election results accompanied all elections in Bulgaria. Opinion polls show that doubts expressed by voters about the fairness of elections result in lower turnout and undermine the democratic process. Therefore, the project aims at involving citizens more actively in the election process and thus improving their participation in decision-making about social policies by presenting to them objective information about vote-buying and the extent to which it rigs election results. At the same time identification of at-risk polling stations based on statistical analysis will enable law enforcement authorities to take actions in a timely manner and counteract more efficiently vote-buying. In addition, the project will provide citizens with information about the possible effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the organization of the election process, the voter turnout and the election results. The main project outcomes will be reports and analyses of the scope and impact of vote-buying in the elections in the period 2013-2019 and the upcoming parliamentary elections. A list of the polling stations at higher risk of vote buying will be submitted to the law enforcement authorities.