Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission found no administrative violation of Article 182(1) of the Electoral Code in Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s statement after the Sofia Economic Forum on 26 October. The decision, dated 28 October, separately refers allegations concerning Article 168(3) to the National Audit Office.
The complaints concern support for a presidential candidate and the dissemination of the statement through official Council of Ministers channels. The commission examined the location and timing of the remarks and the legal definition of campaigning.
Its reasoning says the statement was made outside a state or municipal institution and before the formal start of the runoff campaign. That campaign began when the decision naming the runoff candidates was announced on 27 October. This timing is part of the commission’s legal assessment, not a finding that public officials have unrestricted freedom to use public resources in elections.
The distinction between the two parts of the decision is central. The CEC did not establish the alleged Article 182(1) violation. It did not resolve the Article 168(3) public-resource allegation on its merits; it sent that issue to the authority it considers competent.
For voters, the case illustrates how a single political controversy can involve different legal questions and different institutions. A decision on campaigning rules does not automatically answer a separate question about the financing or use of official resources.
No finding by the National Audit Office is established in the sources checked for this report. The next substantive development would be a published action by the competent authority, rather than an assumption that the referral itself proves or disproves wrongdoing.
