site.btaMRF Rift: Six Dogan Allies Expelled from Haskovo Chapter

Six members of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) in Haskovo, including current MP Myumyun Sali Myumyun from the 51st Parliament and the Mayor of Mineralni Bani Municipality, Myumyun Ali Iskender, have been expelled from the MRF, the Haskovo branch of the MRF backing Delyan Peevski, Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning, announced on their Facebook page here on Friday. The expulsion decision followed a meeting of the party's regional council on Thursday evening.

The reasons provided for the expulsions include being a member of another party, working for the benefit of other parties or independent candidates, and actions against the party during elections. Among those expelled are Valentin Tonchev and Bayram Shenol Rezhdeb, parliamentary candidates for the MRF wing backing Ahmed Dogan, Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF), in the Haskovo region during the last parliamentary elections.

Two other prominent figures have also been expelled: Yudjel Naim Atilla, a founding member of the MRF in Haskovo, and Ekrem Zeynur Yuzeir, chair of MRF's municipal structure in Mineralni Bani Municipality, aligned with Ahmed Dogan’s faction. They were removed for creating conditions for division and factionalism that threatened the unity of the party and its leadership.

Yuzeir was injured and hospitalized following an attack on ARF activists during the election campaign on October 11 in the village of Lyaskovo, Chernoochene Municipality.

The expulsions come amid a surge of internal purges within MRF. Earlier this week, the wing backing Delyan Peevski ousted 12 members, and the wing backing Ahmed Dogan ousted 10 members from the MRF Kardzhali chapter. Additionally, the Peevski-aligned regional branch of MRF in Gabrovo expelled seven of its members.