Author: Vildan Bayryamova
In Kardzhali, the candidates of Delyan Peevski's "MPS - New Beginning" emphasized that they are the real party and only they can guarantee new standards of life throughout Bulgaria. Those who steadfastly follow their leader Ahmed Dogan interpret the abbreviation as "Delyan for Rights and Freedoms", and the APS (Alliance for Rights and Freedoms) - as "Anti-Peevski Union" and "Ahmed for Rights and Freedoms". The posters of both factions bear the inscription MRF.
None of the Turkish-speaking candidates spared themselves from speaking in their mother tongue, even at the risk of being fined by the CEC for this.
"List without derebei"
On the list of "MPS - New Beginning" the first three positions are occupied by the municipal mayors of Kardzhali, Chernoochene and Dzhebel. After them are the previous deputies from the until recently unified MRF Bayram Bayram, Elvan Gyurkas, Ayten Sabri and other new faces. All were presented as outstanding experts in various fields. The host of the presentation ceremony announced that "there are no derebei and compromised individuals in this list". To honor her with frenetic applause, shrill playing and loud chants, three municipal administrations, mayors of settlements and party activists arrived at the House of Culture in Kardzhali.
"This time we will achieve our ambition to have "DPS - New Beginning" in the country's government. The battle with the scoundrels and agents of the State Security in the DPS will be eternal until they leave this political party. Everyone should know that the future government of the country will be Euro-Atlantic and we will develop Bulgaria to new heights," said Bayram Bayram. According to him, "someone pressed the button in Moscow and the State Security agents did so to destabilize both the MRF and our homeland".
Former MEP and second-term mayor of Jebel Nejmi Ali emphasized that thanks to Peevski, the municipalities governed by the MRF have been provided with 420 million leva. And he recalled that when the MRF turned out to be the second political force in the previous early parliamentary vote, the honorary leader Ahmed Dogan did not call the "boy" to congratulate him on the dizzying success. And again, he was to blame for the country not having a government - by ordering the parliamentary group not to support the project. "Now we would have ministers and deputies in every ministry, regional government and state structures. "In the period 2001-2009, we had 4,800 representatives in the executive branch," Ali pointed out, insisting that the MRF regain its presence at all levels of government. For half a year, the central leadership has been collecting data on young people with education from universities in the EU with the aim of returning them to Bulgaria. Now the task was to convince and attract to "MPS - New Beginning" all those who preferred the wing of the Falcon.
However, before presenting itself to the Bulgarian voters, the entire list went to Turkey for five days in the regions with Bulgarian emigrants and during its short stay there managed to change attitudes. Because before that, Dogan's people explained to the emigrant organizations that "everywhere the lists will be full of Bulgarians because of Peevski and here and there a Turk". "Everyone should be aware - out of 27 regions, 22 are with us! Out of 34 municipalities, 22 are with us and new brothers and sisters arrive every day", revealed Nejmi Ali. He expressed hope that by the end of the campaign, the wavering activists and voters will join the New Beginning.
About the traitors and the "revivalists"
There was no shortage of accusations of betrayal - that "former colleagues" secretly registered under the umbrella of other parties, that when they were still in the parliamentary group, there were many intrigues, and now there are none. "These same people, in their quest to protect their personal interests, betrayed the MRF and the Bulgarian ethnic model, which is the greatest achievement of all the depessars. Now our target is the ideologists and perpetrators of the "revival process" to bear their responsibility, which someone has not asked them for a very long time, "said Stanislav Anastasov, Peevski's deputy.
He emphasized that there were still alive among the perpetrators of the crime - the then first secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party Georgi Tanev and director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Atanas Kadirev. However, Kadirev died in Sofia at the age of 92. It is true that party boss Georgi Tanev is alive at 80, but Peevski's favorite prosecutor's office deliberately waited for the death of the last of the "architects" of the renaming and discontinued the case. And at the end of 2022, the Sofia Court of Appeal returned the case for continuation of the procedural and investigative actions. Anastasov failed to specify this.
Ahmed Dogan leads the list of APS in Kardzhali
But he didn't come for the start of the campaign. And traditionally, all sorts of party leaders start arriving at the "bastion" only in the last week before the vote. The situation with the two MRFs in the Kardzhali electoral district is really complicated - while three of the seven municipalities are circling around Peevski, the remaining four are with the honorary chairman. The MRF regional council also remained loyal to Dogan. And how far the rift among the municipal councilors has gone remains to be seen.
"Fear has become the main feeling"
"Recently, fear has become the main feeling among those working in administrations, municipal structures and in business. But this must be put to an end, one Peevski cannot frighten thousands of people", said the only woman on the APS list, Elvan Atilla.
She pointed out that Peevski uses all possible levers of fear and pressure through his people on the ground: "employees are fired even at pre-retirement age, hordes of control bodies are sent to businesses, water and electricity supplies are stopped, threats of violence are made". "Why did we elect Peevski? Because they labeled us an ethnic party, but he is by no means the first Bulgarian Christian in this party, and he trampled on our trust, squatting like a cuckoo in a nest he did not create", explained the activist with 34 years of experience. Regarding the mistake of choosing "this boy" all candidates spoke about the co-chairman of the MRF and the subsequent crisis, as well as the need to apologize to the voters.
"Delyan Peevski imagined that without a coalition agreement a government could be formed with the participation of the MRF, and he would appoint ministers. The mayor of Kardzhali is implementing his model, but how can he be sure that the municipal councilors will not deprive him of their trust? That is why there is this rift, but many people will see through it", assured former MP Remzi Osman, now second on the list.
The Battle for Stalingrad?
At the dawn of his political career, former President Georgi Parvanov rode the nationalist-minded people in Kardzhali - the same ones who shouted "Turks in Turkey, Bulgaria for the Bulgarians!". At an election rally in front of the same House of Culture, he declared Kardzhali to be Stalingrad and that this battle would be won by the OKZNI (People's Committee for the Protection of National Interests). Now, 30 years later, the city is once again the epicenter of tremors, this time the monopolists of the Turkish ethnicity and Muslims are fighting. "The Turkish mayor is crushing the Turks and if until 1989 there was a communist regime of Zhivkov, now it's the same, but with Peevski", commented Kadir Mustafov from the APS list.
When asked if they are not worried about being associated with a leader attacked under the "Magnitsky" law, his loyal people have no answer. Only mocking laughter and neglect.