Bulgarian nationalists blocked border checkpoints with Turkey on Friday to stop buses bringing Bulgarian ethnic Turks to vote in Sunday's election amid growing tension between the two neighbours.
About 50 protesters gathered at Kapitan Andreevo, the main checkpoint, with banners reading "Bulgaria above everything!" and "No to Turkish interference!" as loudspeakers blared patriotic songs. Bulgarian police removed nationalists who were blocking border checkpoints with Turkey. The police operation to clear the roads at the checkpoints in Kapitan Andreevo, Lesovo and Malko Tarnovo came after the interim government's press office issued a statement that said: "the free movement ... should be guaranteed immediately, in line with the national and international law".
Bulgaria is home to a 700,000-strong Muslim minority, most of them ethnic Turks. About 400,000 Bulgarian nationals live in Turkey, most of them Bulgarian Turks descended from Ottoman-era Turkish settlers in the Balkans.
Turkish officials including Turkey's ambassador in Bulgaria have voiced their support for Dost party, which openly backs Ankara. Sofia has complained about Turkish meddling and in the latest angry exchange on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused Bulgaria of putting "serious pressure" on its Turks ahead of the vote. Polls suggest DOST will fall short of the four-percent vote needed to enter the parliament.
Between 60,000 and 90,000 of the Bulgarian citizens in Turkey regularly vote in Bulgarian elections but new rules slashed the number of polling stations in Turkey to 35 from more than 100. BNR Bulgarian public radio reported from the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa that Turks who wanted to travel to Bulgaria for the vote were offered free transport by Turkey.
