Cakirov and Peevski elected co-chairs at the 11th congress of the HÖH Party in Bulgaria

At the 11th congress of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (HÖH) Party in Bulgaria, the majority of whose members are Turks and Muslims, MPs Cevdet Çakırov (64) and Dilyan Peevski (44) were unanimously elected as co-chairs.

With the participation of 1500 delegates, the congress was organised under the slogan "New Beginning - In Unity with the People". 

The nomination of Chakrov and Peevski was proposed by Ahmet Dogan, Honorary President and founder of the HÖH Party, which was founded 34 years ago. 

Before the voting, the resignation of the party's former Chairman Mustafa Karadayı was also accepted.

Mr Chakirov, who is a medical doctor and served as Minister of the Environment in 2005-2009, is also vice-president of the Liberal International.

Peevski, who is the chairman of the HÖH parliamentary group and one of the country's leading businessmen, has been an MP for the last seven terms.

Doğan, who could not attend the congress of his party, which has the third largest group in the Bulgarian Parliament and supports the ruling coalition from outside, explained the reasons for his co-chairmanship proposal in a written message. Stating that the party's struggle for rights and freedom must continue, Doğan said: "In recent years, our party must renew its political face in parallel with its political expansion. HÖH must renew and activate its model of working with real people and find solutions to the new problems of the people at the local administration level."

Doğan also said that the country does not need a new early election.

He regretted that NATO, the United Nations (UN) and other international organisations have not found the means to stop the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. "Every day, too many people, including children, are being killed without an explanation of the reasons for what is happening to them," he said.

TACKLING THE DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS

İlhan Küçük, a member of the HÖH and Co-Chair of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament (EP), presented a report at the congress evaluating the last four years of the party's work and setting new goals.

In the report, Küçük emphasised the demographic crisis, which is among the biggest internal problems Bulgaria is facing, and said: "Demographic problems in Bulgaria have reached a serious crisis level. The demographic crisis threatens our future. Hundreds of thousands of our citizens left Bulgaria in search of a better life. According to the latest research, Bulgaria is the 11th fastest melting nation in the world."

Referring to the need for a coordinated approach in this regard, Küçük said

"Economic development, social guarantees, access to health care, quality education, good infrastructure, transport links, environmental efficiency, personal and social security, culture and cultural institutions are important. HÖH calls for the following: "Let us move from observations to actions to overcome the demographic crisis and recognise that these actions must be reflected in all political spheres and require a comprehensive approach, expressed in a national doctrine with the slogan 'The future of Bulgaria is Bulgarian citizens'."

In his report, Küçük also mentioned his party's foreign policy priorities and made the following statements about Türkiye:

"The position of the HÖH Party with regard to the Republic of Türkiye is an attitude towards the strategic partner of the EU. This includes the good neighbourly relations between the two countries, which are united by common issues and common goals, both related to the problem of irregular migration and to the progress in economic relations and the development of trade and tourism between the two countries."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a video message to the assembly, which was also attended by MPs from parties with groups in the Bulgarian parliament, representatives of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, representatives from the AK Party, CHP and IYI Party from Türkiye.