Ahmed Dogan, the notorious leader of Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), expressed his certainty that there will be early elections in the country after the upcoming presidential vote.

"The outcome of the presidential election will show how the next parliamentary elections will go. If (the ruling centrist-right) GERB loses now, which almost certain, there will surely be parliamentary by-elections," Dogan declared.

"No president can be elected without us," Dogan said before a crowd of supporters, who gathered in the Southeastern town of Dzhebel to commemorate the so-called "May events" of 1989.

Dogan and his supporters were confronted by a group loyal to ex-vice chair of DPS and current renegade, Kasim Dal.

The group was holding posters, demanding former Communist State Security Agents out of the party, but was pushed away by the Dogan's supporters, who were shouting "traitors" in Turkish, the Dnevnik daily reports. Dogan himself is a former agent of the State Security.

Recently, Dal declared that the Movement of Rights and Freedom's voters are sick and tired of the party's autocratic ways and are going to show that on upcoming municipal and presidential elections in the fall.

Dal left its leadership in February and was expelled from all senior positions after voicing sharp criticism about the internal life of his party and in particular Dogan's overpowering role.

"Certain people want to create new parties and divide DPS," Dogan said Thursday, without mentioning Dal's name, but stating he was "repulsed" by these actions.

In the so called "May events" of 1989, tens of thousands Turkish demonstrators took to the streets in the north-eastern and south-eastern provinces to protest against the so-called "Revival Process", designed by the Communist regime and aiming at re-name all people from the Islamic minorities with Slavic names.

The demonstrations were violently suppressed by police and the military forces. On the 6th of May members of the Turkish community initiated mass hungers strikes and demanded the restitution of the their Muslim names and civil liberties in accordance with the country's constitution and international treaties signed by Bulgaria.

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