What does Prisoners’ dilemma a la bulgare look like? - To stay in prison or to run for parliament.
The Galevi Brothers (also the Galev Bros), Plamen Galev and Angel Hristov - two of the most discussed underworld figures on Bulgarian media - seem to have made a lasting mark on, intriguingly, the German public; more lasting than the unprecedented abuse of €7.1 million EU funds reveled last year.  Bulgarian online journal Novinite quoted outgoing German ambassador to Sofia Michael Geier saying that “he was shocked by the huge attention on the part of German people regarding the issue.”

the Galev brothers

The daily continues to explain that in mid-June, Plamen Galev and Angel Hristov walked out of jail after they were both allowed to run for parliamentary seats and thus received immunity from prosecution. Hristov was the only candidate in the western city of Kyustednil of the little known Party for Liberal Alternative and Peace PLAM (FLAME), and its majority candidate in the city of Pernik. His registration documents were submitted on June 12 with the Regional Electoral Commission in Kyustendil. On June 10, the Regional Electoral Commission confirmed that his brother Galev had also been registered to run in the upcoming general elections, as a majority candidate for his hometown of Doupnista. Galev and Hristov, had been investigated over a long period of time for various crimes in the southwest town of Dupnitsa, most notably racketeering and organized crime. The Sofia City Prosecutor recently officially moved the case against the Galevi brothers to the Sofia City Court and the two are charged with running an organized criminal group.

According to the law, as official MP candidates, they would have received immunity from prosecution and the Court would not have been able to set a date for the trial until after their term is over. The Irish Times commented that “on the opposite corner of Europe” running for parliament is the new escape route for prisoners. Fortunately, the Galev Bros failed to make it to Bulgaria’s 41st General Assembly. The City Prosecutor did not, however, throw them back in jail:  the two were released on bail because they had not given any indication they would try to hide before the trial.

Novinite quotes prosecutor Nikolay Kokinov, who said that “In order to ask for their detention they must violate bail - fail to appear before the court, or hide. If we receive proof they tried to pressure witnesses this would become a new circumstance that would give us the reason to request a measure other than the bail. However, I doubt they would display any such behavior because they spent enough time behind bars and would be cautious now.” The Prosecutor further announced that the trial against the two would be scheduled as soon as possible by the Regional Court in the western city of Kyustendil, adding that after Galev and Hristov no longer have immunity their case should be tried by the local court instead of being returned back to the one in Sofia.

The Irish Times completes the list of all crime bosses who tried the escape route/legislative loophole this spring.

Alexander Tomov in Court

Starting with Alexander Tomov, whose embezzlement trial as the former director of the insolvent Kremikovtzi steelworks was suspended to allow him to run in June’s European Parliament elections. Like the Galevs, he was also a candidate in the national vote on July 5th.

Ivailo Drazhev, left

Another almost-MP is Ivailo Drazhev, the former head of the Chernomorets soccer club, who is awaiting trial for drink-driving and causing the death of two people in 1998; and who is also charged with siphoning off cash from a Bulgarian company.

Vesselin Danov

The notorious father and son, Vesselin and Hristo Danov, who face jail for crimes including extortion, money laundering and luring people into prostitution also hoped to run for parliament in the Black Sea city of Varna, where they are both councillors.The tiny Alliance of Bulgarian Patriots, on whose list they would have run, complained about a court’s decision not to grant the Danovs temporary immunity.

While these fledgling politicians insist they are innocent and want to enter parliament only to help their compatriots and their homeland, their involvement in the election has prompted President Georgi Parvanov to lament the legal loopholes that allow them to run for office. The Irish Times quotes his in saying that “If we now allow people burdened with heavy sins [to enter parliament], this would not only blacken Bulgaria’s image but would also hurt our perception about democracy profoundly. That is why every voter must use their conscience.” The president’s vote by conscience message seems to have been heeded by Bulgarian voters, who rushed to vote in unprecedented numbers on Sunday.

Or maybe it was rather the obligatory warning which accompanied every campaign message and adorned every campaign poster this year (”The buying and selling of votes is a crime. Vote by conscience!”), to the shock and dismay of  OSCE observers, which led to the high turnout - again, to the shock and dismay of many more election analysts.