DOST party

The Turkish media did not pay much attention to the early general elections held on March 26 in Bulgaria, the related incidents and their possible causes. Developments that concerned 650,000 Turkish voters remained behind our domestic referendum debates. 

Before the early parliamentarian elections to be held on March 26 in Bulgaria, election campaigns have started causing tension between the two Turkish political parties there. 

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has summoned Turkey's Ambassador Suleyman Gokce over reported campaigning of a Turkish official in favour of a certain party running in Bulgaria's early elections.

Right-wingers and nationalists have in Bulgaria have vented anger over remarks of Turkey's Labour Minister who urged expats to vote for DOST party in the early election on March 26.

Turkish Labour and Social Policy Minister Mehmet Müezzinoglu has called on Turkey-based expatriates from Bulgaria to vote for DOST, the party of ex-DPS leader Lyutvi Mestan, Bulgarian and Turkish media report.

Austria's Ambassador to Sofia Roland Hauser has turned out to be the most popular personality in Novinite's 2016 poll.

Apart from winning the contest's Diplomacy category, Mr Hauser has obtained the biggest share of votes among all nominees.

Novinite is publishing highlights of the year, using only one selection criteria: those which gained the biggest reader interest throughout 2016 have made it into the shortlist.

The events are ordered chronologically, according to the moment they began, even if their major development occurred over the months to come.

A delegation of DOST party, led by its chair Lyutvi Mestan, held a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara, the party's press office has said.

Key DOST members accompanying Mestan included Shabanali Ahmed, Hyusein Hafazov and Aydoan Alo.

Bulgarian lawmakers have backtracked on a blanket ban on opening polling stations outside of Bulgaria's diplomatic missions to other countries.

Under the new rules approved on Thursday afternoon, the restrictions will not be in force for the territory of the EU where there are embassies or consulates.

DOST party will work toward strengthening Bulgaria's relations with neighbouring Turkey, its leader Lyutvi Mestan has said.

"The Republic of Turkey can be of great help to us," Mestan told Turkey's Anadolu Agency on Sunday in his first interview for foreign media after last week's founding of DOST party.