site.btaUPDATED Campaign Highlights: Sept. 13

VMRO co-chair Iskren Veselinov said that his party has always been on the side of the Bulgarian police in their fight against crime, during a meeting with the Trade Union Federation of the Employees in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to Veselinov, when VMRO was still in power, one of the first actions taken by parliament was to increase the wages in security. VMRO co-chair and MEP Angel Dzhambazki stated that the staff must be motivated by ensuring community support and career progression. The unionists demanded updated salaries. The Union's co-chair Vergil Hristov pointed out that the problem with officers' uniforms has been unsolved for 4 years. According to Iliya Hrisimov from the Union, the claim that Georgi Semerdjiev had been enjoying the protection of police officers was untrue.

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Continue the Change co-chair Assen Vassilev said in Kardzhali, South Bulgaria that "the most important thing [to take place here] is to build the ring road and the link that we started building together with our NATO allies - Alexandroupolis, the Makaza border control check point, Burgas, Varna, Constanta. A fast railway, highway, oil pipelines along this corridor". Vassilev added that planning for the ring road should be completed by the end of the year. "This is a very important section, which again, I say, is part of a comprehensive new route in Europe, built from Alexandroupolis to Constanta, passing through the Makaza border control check point, Kardzhali, Burgas, Varna. So, the Black Sea motorway will be the next stage of this same route," Vassilev said.

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Bulgarian Rise's Krastyu Sotirov, who leads the party's ballot for the 18th constituency in Razgrad, Northeast Bulgaria, told members of the Reserve Officers and Noncommissioned Officers Union that "Bulgarian interest and anything that benefits Razgrad and the region is a priority for the Bulgarian Rise coalition". Sotirov presented his party's candidates. Tsvetelina Boteva, listed second on the ballot, described the candidates as worthy people and proven professionals. Malomir Vlasov and Simeon Simeonov said that they had never been involved in politics before but entered the campaign with ideas for specific solutions in the interest of the region's residents. Sotirov spoke about the demographic crisis as one of the main problems, as it negatively affects the economy and the standard of living.

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Rise Up Bulgaria leader Maya Manolova told reporters in Yambol, Southeast Bulgaria, that the first bill to be introduced in parliament by her party would be on the emergency in the energy and water and sewage sectors. According to Manolova, the state should cover the entire increase in households' utility bills for the heating season. "The energy poor are not the 300,000 people that the quadruple coalition deemed in need of assistance. Energy poor is anyone whose energy bill is 10% higher than their income. For example, two poor workers who are paid BGN 1,400, should not have to pay more than BGN 140 to cover their energy bills," Manolova said. She labelled "absurd" BSP's proposal to freeze household bills, because even now those bills are too high.

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GERB leader Boyko Borissov said in the southwestern town of Sandanski that the largest tunnels and bridges of the Struma motorway are ready but not in use. In his words, if the GERB-UDF coalition does not win on October 2, the money allocated for Struma Motorway will have to be returned and the section through the Kresna Gorge will not be completed for decades. Borissov also said that on Wednesday GERB will present a recovery plan of all major sectors created by the party's experts. GERB's top-of-the-list candidate in Blagoevgrad, Rosen Zhelyazkov, said that the plan pays attention to the justice sector to prevent violations of the basic principles of rule of law.

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The sequence of the campaign highlights featured in this report follows the ballot numbers of the 29 contestants in the October 2 snap parliamentary elections.