Bobov Dol Mines Managing Cadre Fired over Controlled Vote Scandal

Ognyan Zarev, who was in the management of the Bobov Dol mines, has been fired after a hidden-camera footage alleged controlled vote ahead of May's European Elections.

Zarev has been accused by his colleagues of having ordered a report by private channel Nova TV, which first claimed to show the mine's chief as urging miners to vote at the elections by ticking a certain number in the ballots.

In the video, he also promised those who heeded his instructions to get advanced payment.

The section of his "speech" in front of the workers were he says the ballot number was first muffled as the footage was aired days before the vote. But "unabridged" versions in YouTube made clear the number was that of the main ruling party BSP.

Dariknews.bg reports that an informant of Nova TV, who works at the mine and went into some detail about corporate voting practices at Bobov Dol, has not been fired.

No legal action has yet followed the revelations. The National Ombudsman, Konstantin Penchev, has only decided to launch a probe into what he calls "feudal" working conditions at the mine, while the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has failed to agree on any measures. A probe triggered by the Prosecuting Authority is not known to have yielded results.

The Bobov Dol management denies the authenticity of the footage, saying it is "a lie" and "a result of montage".