site.btaMRF Parliamentary Group Expels MP Jeyhan Ibryamov

The MRF parliamentary group expelled MP Jeyhan Ibryamov on Thursday, said Rositsa Kirova, who chaired the session of the National Assembly. The decision was taken with 30 votes in favour, no objections and no abstentions.

Before his expulsion from the parliamentary group, Ibryamov stated that he would remain an independent MP "because he has a responsibility to the voters of the region and to the entire Bulgarian people".

MRF started off with 46 seats in Parliament but has expelled two already, Ibryamov and Atalay, over a dissent in the party ranks.

On Wednesday, the MRF local chapter in Targovishte withdrew its confidence from Ibryamov after he abstained in a plenary vote on a government proposed by GERB-UDF and thus defied the instructions of one of the two MRF leaders, Delyan Peevski, to back the government. The other leader, Dzhevdet Chakarov, voted against the proposed government and in line with the instructions of MRF Honorary Chair Ahmed Dogan.

Ibryamov told BTA that the decision to strip him of the backing of the local chapter was made under pressure from the central leadership. "There is nothing that would surprise me because I know these people, I have worked with them for years. We have been with most of them in the youth organization of the MRF", he commented.

Ibryamov also added that he knows well the regional MRF leader in Targovishte, Hamdi Ilyazov. "Expulsion does not lead to the preservation of the integrity of the party, and our idea is exactly that. The integrity of the MRF is very important," he said.

Iliyazov stated that the reasons for the vote against Ibryamov "have built up over the years": he stirred conflicts and intrigues among people on local level and among MPs, and is responsible for the loss of votes in the recent elections.