| Alliance for Rights and Freedoms | |
| Native Name: | Алианс за права и свободи |
| Abbreviation: | APS |
| Chairperson: | Dzhevdet Chakarov |
| Leader1 Title: | Honorary Chairman |
| Leader1 Name: | Ahmed Dogan |
| Position: | Centre |
| Colors: | Blue (official) Purple (customary) |
| Split: | Movement for Rights and Freedoms |
| Seats1 Title: | National Assembly |
| Seats1: | |
| Seats2 Title: | European Parliament |
| Seats2: | |
| Country: | Bulgaria |
The Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (bg|Алианс за права и свободи, АПС|Alians za prava i svobodi, '''APS'''; tr|Hak ve Özgürlükler İttifakı[1] [2]), often known as DPS–Dogan, is a Bulgarian political electoral coalition. It was formed prior to the October 2024 Bulgarian parliamentary election.
The coalition claimed to represent the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), following a leadership dispute. This claim was disputed by DPS – A New Beginning, another coalition which registered on the same day as DPS–Dogan.[3] [4] On 11 September, the courts ruled that Peevski's electronic application was valid and he was able to run with the original DPS. DPS–Dogan is chaired by Dzhevdet Chakarov, but its common name comes from its links to the founder and key figure in the original DPS, Ahmed Dogan.[5] [6] [7]
The electoral coalition was formed in response to a legal dispute between the joint chairmen of the original DPS, Chakarov (who is allied with Dogan) and Delyan Peevski. On 27 August 2024, Peevski was removed as chairman alongside multiple allies. This move has been linked to Dogan.[8] Peevski challenged the decision and argued this was unconstitutional.[9] Because of this, there was no clear leader of the original DPS. With the deadline to register for the October elections approaching, both the Dogan and Peevski wings made preparations to run separate coalitions.[10]
When registration opened on 2 September, both the Dogan and Peevski coalitions were registered. Both argued they were the first,[11] with Peevski submitting an unprecedented electronic application rather than one in person.
After DPS–Peevski was recognized to be the legitimate DPS by the Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria, DPS~Dogan changed their name and registered without claiming DPS to be a member of the alliance.[12]
The composition of DPS–Dogan is as follows, though the status of whether the official DPS party runs in DPS–Dogan or DPS–Peevski is yet to be determined by the Bulgarian Electoral Commission.[13] Despite the original DPS being listed as part of both electoral coalitions, the Commission decided on 4 September that both had to prove the original party was not part of either group,[14] something neither wing agreed to do by the 7 September deadline.[15] On 11 September, because it was registered first,[16] [17] the courts ruled that Peevski's electronic application was valid and he was able to run with the original DPS. As such, the Agrarian People's Union registered the new name for the alliance.[18]
| Party | Leader | Ideology | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) (de facto) | Dzhevdet Chakarov | Liberalism Turkish minority interests | |||
| (SBOR) | Dimitar Iliev | Formerly part of the electoral coalition in 2023. | |||
| Agrarian People's Union (ZNS) | Roumen Yonchev | Agrarianism | Formerly part of various election coalitions, most recently Blue Bulgaria for the June 2024 elections. | ||