site.btaFormer MRF Leader Karadayi Says He Resigned ahead of Party's Central Council to Show He Is Not Running for Chairman

In a Facebook post on Friday, former Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) leader Mustafa Karadayi writes that he resigned ahead of the party's Central Council meeting and National Conference to make it clear that he will not run for a new term in office, to give enough time for a serious debate on the MRF's future and for the preparation of any candidates for MRF chairperson. The post, published before the start of Friday's Central Council meeting, is addressed to MRF Honorary Chairman Ahmed Dogan, members of the Central Council and MRF sympathizers.

Karadayi thanks for the trust he received when he was elected MRF chairman on April 24, 2016. "I thank every single one of you for everything we experienced during this period. Thank you for the trust! Thank you, Mr Dogan, for everything! The service for and in the name of the MRF is both a privilege and a huge responsibility. I have always acted with huge responsibility. At the end, I wish to apologize to every person individually and to the Central Council as a whole if I have not met their expectations as a chairman and as a person. I wish you a lot of health and successes!" the post reads.

Friday's meeting of the Central Council began with loud applause for MRF Floor Leader Delyan Peevski and MP Halil Letifov. MRF Honorary Chairman Dogan, who has been in charge of the party's operational leadership since Karadayi's resignation on November 7, did not attend the meeting but wrote an address to the Central Council, published by the party's press centre.

In his address, Dogan says that Karadayi's "surprising resignation" clearly has a prehistory and development; Karadayi has undisputed contributions to the MRF and the 30 years of investment in him will hopefully help him in the next page of his life. Dogan praises Peevski, calling him a phenomenon in Bulgarian politics in the last five to six months. "With his hyperactivity, resourcefulness, and mediator skills, he managed to become the centre of power in the Bulgarian National Assembly. From the most reviled, he became an important partner for all parliamentary groups." Dogan says further that he assumed the MRF's operational leadership not out of desire to return to politics but out of political necessity: the party's current state and future development.