Delyan Peevski, the head of the DPS parliamentary group sanctioned under the global “Magnitsky” law, has announced that he is running for party chairman.
Earlier today, he himself opened the meeting of the Central Council (CC) of the party, at which it was decided that the National Conference for the election of a new chairman will be held on February 24. On Friday, the resignations of the deputy chairman of the party Ahmed Akhmedov and the leader of the youth movement Sezgin Mehmed were voted.
The honorary chairman of the DPS, Ahmed Dogan, did not appear at the meeting, despite expectations that he would lead it, but praised Peevski remotely and called him a “phenomenon”.
“I am running. Anyone can run. The election of the DPS chairman will be democratic and transparent. Every member of the DPS, nominated by the structures, can run. The DPS will have one chairman”said Peevski, who at the beginning of the Central Committee meeting entered the hall alone and sat down at the table in front of his fellow party members, who welcomed him with open arms and applause.
Unofficially, it has been rumored for months that Peevski, who after the resignation of Mustafa Karadai became the sole head of the DPS deputies, wants to become the official chairman of the party.
In addition to Peevski, the current MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk, the until recently mayor of Karzhdali Hasan Azis, as well as the DPS deputy Filiz Huysmenova, have been put forward as possible candidates for the presidency in recent weeks.
Already last week, Mediapool sources commented that the fact that Peevski remained the sole head of the parliamentary group could be read as a signal that “He and Dogan will personally prepare the conference in February 2024, which probably means that he may be entrusted with the party itself”.
For Dogan Peevski, he is a “phenomenon in Bulgarian politics”
The head of the DPS deputies, who was sanctioned under Magnitsky, announced that Dogan did not attend the meeting because he had the flu. Earlier, the press center of the DPS distributed a message of Dogan to the members of the CS, in which he announced that “Delyan Peevski has been a phenomenon in Bulgarian politics for the last 5-6 months”.
“With his hyperactivity, combinativity and mediation skills, he managed to return the center of power to the Bulgarian parliament. And from the most reviled has become a significant partner for all parliamentary groups“, says Dogan at Peevski’s address.
The honorary chairman of the DPS also says that in the last 11 years he did not assume that he would have to return to operational politics for him as well “it is an existential burden that in a certain sense confuses my personal being”. He adds that he is back “not by will, but by political necessity”.
“My only motivation to be among you is the current state and future development of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms party. DPS is my fate, for the umpteenth time I am convinced that one cannot free himself from calling for help to his creations“, he adds.
“I am unpleasantly surprised by the over-expectations of various analysts from my upcoming stay in the field of what is happening in political realities. Over the past three decades, I have repeatedly had to witness the beginning and end of social over-expectations. They are always connected with the crisis perceptions of political realities and have the same dramatic ending profile. Also, I’m not a fan of savior heroes in history because they by definition mislead society with illusory notions of its future.” Dogan’s message also says.
In his words, the DPS is a product of historical circumstances related to the preservation and protection of human identity and “in this regard, the DPS must always be renewed and stand over time”.
He also addresses the media: “Let me do my job. Don’t pressure me. The main news is produced in the parliament, not in the party headquarters. Therefore, my appearances in the media space will be dosed and sparing. But I would be remiss if I didn’t express my concerns about the political situation in the country. Bulgaria still does not have a clear prospectus for its development”.
According to him, the subject of Bulgaria’s inclusion in Schengen has displaced all significant problems related to the state of the state and civil society and gives an example of the demographic crisis. “Ignoring this problem could have fatal consequences for future generations. I take the liberty of appealing to all parliamentary groups to urgently find a solution to this fundamental issue within the upcoming budget of the countryhe says.
photo: BGNES
Dogan also mentions the until recently chairman of the DPS Mustafa Karadai: “The surprising resignation of Mr. Mustafa Karadai clearly has a background and development. In this case, I just want to point out that he has undeniable merits for the establishment of the DPS. He has a 30-year investment, which, I hope, will help him and in the next page of his life”.
Karadai: I resigned to make it clear that I will not be a candidate for a new term
Meanwhile, after a 10-day silence, the until recently chairman of the DPS, Mustafa Karadai, presented the official arguments for the decision to part with the post.
His explanation came less than half an hour before the Central Council meeting began.
“I resigned as chairman of the DPS immediately before the Central Committee and the National Committee, in order to make it clear that I am not a candidate for the chairman of the party for the next term, to have enough time for a serious debate about the future of the party, as well as enough time to prepare the possible candidates for the chairman of the party”Karaday wrote.
He thanked for “the trust you showed me by electing me as chairman of the DPS” in 2016 and re-electing him for a new term in 2020.
“Thank you to each and every one of you for everything we have been through during this period. Thank you for your trust! Thank you, Mr. Dogan, for everything! Serving for and on behalf of DPS is both a privilege and a huge responsibility. I have always treated with great responsibility. And in the end, I want to apologize to each one individually and to the CA as a whole, if I did not meet his expectations as a chairman and as a person.” Karadai also wrote.
For now, Karadayi continues to be an MP from the DPS and there have been no public calls for him to leave the National Assembly. His predecessor Lutvi Mestan was directly expelled from the party, but remained a member of parliament as a non-member of a parliamentary group.
