During elections for the National Assembly and the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, we often hear that “buying and selling votes is a crime.” In fact, the Penal Code elevates the buying and selling of votes to two separate crimes, which are related to each other, but each of them is an independent crime and is not necessarily linked to the commission of the other crime. These two crimes occur at different times – first, vote buying is criminalized, which is what we will discuss in this article.
Vote buying is a crime against the free exercise of active voting rights, which the legislature considers a serious offense.
Essence of the crime of “buying votes”, penalties and defense
I. Essence and elements of the crime of “purchasing votes”. Charge
The law regulates two forms of purchase of votes, which are expressed in:
- offering property taxes;
- giving property benefits.
The crime may be committed both when offering a property benefit to another person, or when the financial benefit is actually transferred to the actual control of the other person in order to induce them to exercise their right to vote in favor of a particular candidate, political party, or coalition, or to vote in a referendum in a certain way.
Important! For vote buying to occur, the benefit must be of a pecuniary nature, i.e., it must be quantifiable in monetary terms. It could take the form of an increase in assets, but also of a reduction in the loss of those assets. Most often, the benefit is in the form of money, but it is not excluded that it could be something else—for example, an offer to forgive a debt.
The legislator defines “votes” that are purchased as a fairly broad concept, which covers all possible scenarios in elections, as well as voting in referendums.
Any criminally responsible person may be subject to this crime, but it is important to note that in order to bring charges for vote buying, the offering/giving of a financial benefit must be made to a person who has the active right to vote in the relevant type of election or is entitled to vote in a given type of referendum. Thus, offering or giving an advantage to a person who is not entitled to participate in a given election will result in no crime being committed, i.e., an acquittal.
Vote buying is only done with direct intent, and the law also requires an additional subjective element—a specific goal to persuade the person to exercise their right in a certain way. The giving or offering of the benefit must be intended to persuade the person not simply to vote, but to do so for a specific candidate, for a specific party/coalition, or to give a specific answer in a referendum. For the crime to be complete, it is not necessary for the purpose to have been achieved, but only for it to have been present at the time the act was committed.
II. Penalties and defense against charges of vote buying
As already mentioned, vote buying is a serious crime, punishable by the following penalties:
- imprisonment for a term of one to six years
- fine from ten thousand to twenty thousand levs
- disqualification from holding certain public or civil service positions.
When committing such a crime, it is not possible to be exempted from criminal liability by imposing an administrative penalty. With the latest amendments to the Penal Code, it is no longer possible to impose probation as a punishment on perpetrators of such crimes, as the legislator has set a lower limit for the punishment, namely from one to six years’ imprisonment. The privilege of replacing the specified prison sentence with probation in the case of multiple or exceptional mitigating circumstances applies only when no minimum prison sentence is provided for, which is not the case here.
It is possible that, in the event of a charge of vote buying, a suspended sentence may be achieved if the conditions for this are met and a well-constructed line of defense is presented. Although the participation of a defense attorney in criminal cases involving charges of vote buying is not mandatory, it is desirable in order to ensure the maximum protection of the defendant’s rights.
It is also possible to deliver an acquittal, with each specific case being assessed in detail and the circumstances thoroughly analyzed. An acquittal may be delivered when any of the elements of the crime cannot be proven. For example, if the direct intent and specific purpose required for this crime, namely to persuade the person to vote in a certain way, cannot be proven, then the subjective element of the crime will not be present, which in turn will lead to the act not constituting a crime, or to an acquittal.
Crime does not exist a3> be and in cases where the perpetrator has not indicated a specific candidate, political party or coalition, in favor of whom should exercise their active electoral right, or if the person to whom the benefit is granted does not meet the conditions for active electoral right/respectively to the conditions for voting in a referendum.
In cases where all elements of the crime are proven, it is possible to seek a lighter sentence, for which it is necessary to engage a defense attorney specializing in criminal law in a timely manner. In exceptional or multiple mitigating circumstances, the court may not impose the lighter penalty provided for by law alongside the prison sentence, namely the fine that is provided for as a concurrent penalty alongside the prison sentence.
III. Specific scenarios of vote buying
The legislator has also criminalized the organization of vote buying. In practice, this means that aiding and abetting vote buying is now a criminal offense. This activity can be carried out in two ways:
- In the form of an actual organization, which includes creating conditions for vote buying, coordinating buyers, etc. – in this case, the organizers of the vote buying will be held responsible;
or
- In the form of offering financial benefits to persons who organize vote buying – this provides for criminal liability for those offering financial benefits.
Организирането на купуване на гласове е по-тежко наказуемо, като за организатора на купуването, както и за предоставящия имотната облага се предвижда наказание лишаване от свобода от една до седем години и глоба от десет хиляди до двадесет и пет хиляди лева. В този случай съдът също постановява и наказание лишаване от право да се заема определена държавна или обществена длъжност.
Important! If the perpetrator who has committed vote buying voluntarily reports the organized vote buying to the competent authority, he or she will not be punished. Under this incentive provision, the perpetrator must report the unlawful conduct of another person (the organizer of the vote buying or the person providing the benefit) in order to be exempt from criminal liability. The person involved in vote buying will be able to benefit from the incentive provision and avoid punishment if they report who the organizer is, or who is providing the benefit.
Even more severely punishable is vote buying committed by an official in the course of or in connection with the performance of his or her official duties. Here, the law provides for imprisonment of two to seven years and a fine of ten thousand to thirty thousand leva.
Author: Iveta Vuleva, junior lawyer
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More interesting topics, related to crimes, affecting fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens, can be found in the section “Criminal law”.
Sole proprietorship law firm company “Silvia Petkova” provides qualified legal assistance in criminal cases, initiated on the basis of brought charges for purchasing votes.
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