DPS Leader Fears Bulgaria Will Be Governed By 'Anti-European' Coalition

Lyutvi Mestan (C). Photo by BGNES

An "unprincipled" coalition with national populist parties is even a worst scenario than new elections, the leader of liberal DPS, Lyutvi Mestan, warned.

As the Bulgarian Parliament convened for its first session on Monday, Mestan, who heads the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) dominated by ethnic Turks, pointed out that a "strong pro-European, Euro-Atlantic government of Bulgaria" is the only solution to the " complex puzzle" that the Bulgarian voter gave politicians on October.

Mestan added an alliance between center-right GERB, the right-wing Reformist Bloc and the nationalist Patriotic Front

The three entities mentioned by the DPS are tipped by experts to form the next government after last week's consultations showed that Reformists and Patriots are the two coalitions with which GERB found most common ground.

Mestan also made clear his party, which came third at the October 5 snap elections, will seek a comprehensive dialogue on the systemic defect of Bulgaria's democracy.

He warned against the "anti-DPS" sentiment that was, in his words, currently being instilled in society.

The leader also touched the issue of mass demonstrations in the towns of Dupnitsa and Kyustendil over the appointment of Aleksandar Metodiev, also known as Bat Sali, to the Parliament.

"Bat Sali" made it into the legislature with just over 800 votes from a region where tens of thousands cast a ballot. The reason was that thousands of votes for the DPS from abroad were redistributed to a number of constituencies, including to that of Kystendil.

On Monday Mestan said that development was caused by the flaws of the current Electoral Code, which lawmakers in the previous legislature approved early in 2014.

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