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A new political party has been established in Bulgaria by supporters of Ahmed Dogan, the influential former honorary chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), a party traditionally backed by the country’s Turkish and Muslim minority.
According to local media reports, Dogan’s allies gathered at a hotel in Sofia to launch the new party, named the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS). During the founding meeting, Dogan was named honorary chairman of the new formation.
The party also elected a 17-member Central Administrative Bureau and appointed four co-chairs: Taner Ali, Sevim Ali, Dimitar Nikolov, and Hayri Sadakov.
APS is expected to hold its first official congress in September 2026.
The move comes after a growing rift within the MRF, which secured 47 seats in the 240-member Bulgarian Parliament during the June 9, 2024 general elections.
Soon after the new legislature convened, tensions between Dogan and the MRF’s co-chairs, Cevdet Chakirov and Delyan Peevski, led to a major split in the party.
Peevski went on to found a breakaway faction named Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning, while Dogan loyalists formed a separate parliamentary group under the name Alternative for Rights and Freedoms, positioning themselves in the opposition.
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