ALDE moves to expel Peevski’s MRF

The ALDE party bureau has unanimously voted to recommend the expulsion of ALDE party member Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) in Bulgaria, following recent developments concerning its leadership, the EU-level party said on its website.

This recommendation will be presented to the ALDE party council at the earliest opportunity, in accordance with the party’s statutes, it said.

The statement said that the decision was based on the outcome of the Sofia City Court’s ruling on December 19 and the extraordinary national conference convened on December 22, where Delyan Peevski was proclaimed the sole leader of MRF.

Peevski is a controversial figure who has been sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act by both the United Kingdom and the United States for large-scale corruption, ALDE said.

“His political actions are seen as detrimental to democratic principles and political stability in Bulgaria,” it said.

The statement said that while MRF has been a valued member of ALDE Party since 2001, the bureau firmly believes that continuing association with a party under Peevski’s leadership is incompatible with ALDE’s liberal values.

“At ALDE Party, we take the fight against corruption and the defense of the rule of law seriously. A party led by an individual sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act has no place in our family. I therefore recommend that our Council take decisive action to terminate the membership of the Peevski-led MRF in ALDE Party,” ALDE party president Svenja Hahn MEP said.

This decision underscores ALDE Party’s unwavering commitment to upholding integrity and safeguarding democratic principles across Europe, the statement said.

The national conference on December 22 was attended by 544 delegates who voted unanimously for Peevski to become sole MRF leader, according to the party’s press centre.

At the previous MRF conference in February this year, that is, before the split in the movement, 910 delegates participated. In other words, Peevski has a little over half of the previous MRF behind him.

A new party statute has been adopted, which has eliminated the post of “honorary president”, which has been held by Ahmed Dogan for more than a decade.

This practically eliminates the opportunities that Dogan had so far to influence the party leadership and party decisions.

Peevski’s conference has established a new youth organisation of the party and elected a new composition of the Central Operational Bureau, which directly manages party affairs.

Dzhevdet Chakurov, leader of the parliamentary group of Dogan loyalists Democracy Rights and Freedoms, said that the December 22 conference was illegitimate and represented an attempt to usurp the party.

Chakurov said that he and his associates would challenge the legitimacy of the conference in court.

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