
DPS leader Ahmed Dogan (middle) has allegedly made a scandalous statement during his party's campaign. Photo by BGNES
Ahmed Dogan, the leader of Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish party DPS, which is part of the governing coalition, has allegedly made a scandalous statement.
"I am the instrument in power that allocates the portions to the firms in the country. I want you to be very aware of this fact", Dogan has allegedly said during an election campaign meeting on June 18, 2009, in the village of Kochan, Satovcha Municipality, in southwest Bulgaria.
The news is reported by the Trud Daily in its Thursday's issue. A full tape of Dogan's meeting with constituents in question is expected to be released by the rightist GERB party on Thursday.
Dogan is known for a few notorious statements, including the most famous one in 2005, in which he claimed that every political party in Bulgaria used "rings of firms" to fund its activities.
Dogan's party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) is part of the governing three-way coalition, and was ranked third in Bulgaria's European Parliament Elections on June 7 with about 15% of the votes.