Turkish minority party in Bulgaria tries to rid itself of US-sanctioned politician
Bulgaria’s Movement for Rights and Freedoms party, which represents the country’s Turkish minority, is trying to oust its co-leader, Delyan Peevski, who is facing US and UK sanctions for corruption.
On Tuesday, MRF honorary leader and founder Ahmed Dogan, one of the country’s most influential politicians over the past 30 years, announced that Peevski had been expelled from the party. Two days later, the MRF circulated a statement from Dogan saying that Peevski’s expulsion had been expected by all of Bulgaria.
“It was high time for this to happen…This decision was expected by all of Bulgaria. I even hear such talk now – the question is not to save the MRF, but the question is to save Bulgaria. This is real talk,” the MRF honorary chairman said in a recorded statement to his party colleagues.
Three years ago, Peevski was sanctioned by the US under the Global Magnitsky Act for ‘significant corruption’, and shortly afterwards by the UK.
Dogan paid no attention to the sanctions imposed by Bulgaria’s international partners, even though the MRF is a party that consistently defends pro-European policies and supports military aid to Ukraine.
The rift between Dogan and Peevski occurred immediately after the June 2024 elections, when the politician, who had been sanctioned for corruption, began to push the people closest to Dogan out of the MRF.
In early July, the parliamentary group of the MRF, the second-largest party in Bulgaria, split in two. Half of the group remained loyal to Dogan, while the other half, made up of DPS MPs, stayed with Peevski.
On 12 July, ALDE Secretary-General Didrik de Schaetzen told Euractiv Bulgaria in an exclusive interview that the European liberal party was threatening to expel the MRF over Peevski’s sanctions.
Earlier, five ALDE member parties sent a letter demanding that Peevski’s leadership be considered.
“We are witnessing a growing concern. The concern in ALDE is about where the MRF leadership is going. This is a scary development and needs to be treated very seriously. There is a risk, if this continues, that the MRF will end up in a situation where it will face sanctions,” Shaetzen said in an interview with Euractiv on 12 July.
However, Dogan’s decision to expel Peevski could be challenged in court, and he could be reinstated as co-leader of the party.
Peevski has already announced that his expulsion from the party was against the rules and has indicated that he will appeal to the court.
If Peevski is reinstated, there is an immediate risk that ALDE’s largest partner in Bulgaria will not register for the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for 27 October.
Such a development will have a huge impact on politics in one of the EU’s poorest countries, which has been hit hardest by pro-Russian propaganda as the war in Ukraine rages on.
Opinion polls show that if the MRF enters the elections as a united party, it has every chance of becoming the country’s second political force once again.
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