Ahmed Dogan, leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), says he did not say anything that was practised only by his party and that he did not feel regret about any of his pronouncements.

In an interview with Bulgarian daily Trud, Dogan said he did not regret saying in a recent election speech: "the power is concentrated in me, not in your MP who cannot solve problems, but only adopt laws. I am the instrument of power, who distributes the bits of financing in the state."

Dogan's words were recorded in an amateur video recording, first shown on June 25 2009 by private national Nova Televisia and later quoted by local media.

"This is like when I said there are rings of business around every party and everyone jumped. Can at least one major party now claim there are no business structures around it?" Dogan was quoted by Trud as saying.

Dogan said he believed the reactions against the MRF helped the party in its election campaign.

"I do not have to explain anything about our strategy, our ideas about European integration or about our priorities to our voters," Dogan was quoted as saying.

"Hatred breeds hatred, but these days I would like to ask the Almighty to cleanse the souls of those who hate us and to keep us from the temptation of answering hatred with hatred. Otherwise, where will it end?" Dogan was quoted by Trud as saying.

Dogan described the current election campaign as lacking any real political ideas and debates. "We do not have a campaign with new ideas and strategies or new approaches to old ideas to deal with the current financial situation. Campaigning now is anti-, anti-, anti," Dogan said.

"This is primitive campaigning," he said.

In the interview, Dogan says he knew all along that the majority-vote system would become distorted. "At our current level of democratic development, majority candidates cannot succeed without the machinery of their party," he said.

After the elections, whether in power or in the opposition, MRF would still be a socio-political force to reckon with, he said.

"That is our only goal. And we will achieve it," Dogan said.