Border demo greets expat Bulgarians travelling to vote

By Salih Baran

KAPITAN ANDREEVO, Bulgaria (AA) - A group of Turkish reporters and Turkey-resident Bulgarian voters were prevented from entering the EU country on Friday, amid protests at a frontier crossing point.

Right-wing activists staged a demonstration in Bulgaria’s Kapitan Andreevo area -- a resumption of protests mounted on Wednesday.

Around 50 members of the right-wing United Patriots coalition attempted to prevent expat Bulgarian voters living in Turkey from taking part in Sunday’s general election.

The demonstrators, many holding anti-Turkey banners and Bulgarian flags, blocked traffic at the border, forcing passengers to disembark from buses and walk across the frontier on foot.

The Bulgarian authorities also obstructed Turkish journalists, citing security concerns. The reporters remain at the Bulgarian border.

- Tensions

A former Ottoman territory, Bulgaria has a large Turkish minority of about 10 percent, according to official census figures.

Tensions between Bulgaria and Turkey recently escalated over claims Ankara is interfering in the election by favoring the Democrats for Responsibility, Freedom and Tolerance (DOST) coalition.

DOST, which means "close friend" in Turkish, generally has ethnic Turks or Muslims among its members.

Bulgarian citizens are getting ready to vote in the country's third parliamentary election since 2013.

Bulgaria has also issued a new law limiting the number of ballot boxes for Bulgarians living in Turkey to 35 -- for an estimated 500,000 expat residents -- a move the Turkish Foreign Ministry said was intended to hinder ethnic Turkish Bulgarians from voting.

Earlier on Friday, the governor of Turkey’s northwestern Edirne province said Bulgarian citizens living in Turkey were traveling home unobstructed to cast their votes.

"Our Bulgarian citizens in Turkey are going to [Bulgaria] to exercise their democratic right,” Gunay Ozdemir told Anadolu Agency.