Ahmed Dogan, founder and long-time honorary chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), has formally announced the start of a new political project. Speaking at a briefing on Thursday, he revealed that an Initiative Committee has already been set up and entrusted with preparing a National Founding Conference. The goal is to establish a new political party under the name Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS).

Dogan opened the event by addressing speculation about his health, saying he was alive, well, and unaffected by the ailments often circulated online. “I have not had a heart attack, I have not suffered a stroke, I am not wandering around like a drunk,” he remarked, emphasizing that he was fully capable of taking part in the new initiative. He added that his colleagues would ultimately decide whether he would lead the formation, but confirmed that he had personally signed the list of founding members.

Taner Ali, who chairs the newly created Initiative Committee, issued a declaration outlining the steps already taken. According to him, the committee’s leadership has been elected, and the process of preparing the official founding conference is underway. He stressed that this new political effort is driven by continuity with the original ideas and principles of the movement that Dogan launched 35 years ago. “Our party was stolen, but our cause and ideology remain unchanged,” Ali said.

Dogan himself echoed this sentiment, presenting the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms as a natural continuation of his long-standing political mission. He recalled that back in July he had declared a three-month transitional period intended to lay the foundations for this new formation. At the briefing, he promised that more details would be shared at a full press conference in the near future, once the groundwork had been completed.

Responding to questions about whether Delyan Peevski could influence the new project, Dogan was unequivocal. “If I feared someone’s influence, I would not be here, and I would not take part in creating such a project,” he stated firmly. He underlined that the decision to move forward with the Alliance was made after careful reflection and that it represents not a break, but a continuation of his political vision.