Bulgarian politician blacklisted by US pitches candidacy to lead ALDE-affiliated party

Delyan Peevski, a politician sanctioned for corruption by Washington under the Global Magnitsky Act, threw his hat into the ring on Friday (17 November) to become the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), a political force affiliated with the liberal ALDE party.

Peevski, who is now an MP and chairman of the mostly ethnic Turkish DPS parliamentary group, announced he will run for the party leadership at a meeting of the DPS’s central council held in a Sofia hotel.

In June 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Peevski together with two other Bulgarians, as well as their networks encompassing 64 entities, for corruption in Bulgaria.

Since the 2 April parliamentary elections, Peevski gained prominence in the Bulgarian Parliament, where he started playing the role of unofficial spokesperson of his party. On 7 November, DPS President Mustafa Karadaya resigned, opening the way for a race for his successor.

DPS is an opaque political force in which its founder and “honorary president” Ahmed Dogan, officially retired from politics, still pulls the strings.

Since 2001, DPS has been a member of the liberal ALDE party, of which Bulgarian MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk is currently the co-president.

Since ending up on the US blacklist, Peevski has been an embarrassment both for DPS and for ALDE, although they have made no official comment.

Asked by a journalist whether it is possible for the party to be led by co-presidents, an option that would reduce the prominence of the US-indicted politician, Peevski said: “DPS will have one president.”

In recent months, Peevski has spearheaded a rapprochement between DPS and Boyko Borissov’s centre-right GERB party (EPP-affiliated). The move puts at risk the GERB government coalition with ‘We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria’, as the latter insists on keeping its distance from the US-indicted politician and his political force.

DPS’s honorary president Dogan was quick to offer vaguely-worded support for Peevski.

“Mr Delyan Peevski has for me been a phenomenon in Bulgarian politics for the last 5-6 months. With his hyperactivity, combinability and mediation skills, he managed to return the centre of power to the Bulgarian parliament. And from being the most reviled, he became a significant partner for all parliamentary groups,” Dogan said.

The election of the new DPS leader will take place on 24 February and Peevski said the election “will be democratic and transparent”.

“Any member of the DPS nominated by the structures can apply,” said Peevski, who was met with standing ovations by his party fellows.

Other possible candidates to lead DPS include current MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk and former MEP Filiz Huyzmenova.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]

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