The results for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms were the best in 19 years, party leader Ahmed Dogan told an election night news conference in the early hours of July 6 2009.

The party's goal had been to exceed 600 000 votes and it had achieved this, said Dogan, whose party is supported mainly by Bulgarians of ethnic Turkish descent and has served in the current governing coalition and its predecessor.

Dogan said that he would not be surprised if the MRF became the second-largest party in Parliament: "I say this with regret," he said.

In a clear reference to popular views of GERB leader Boiko Borissov, whose party took more than 40 per cent of votes to emerge with the largest share in Bulgaria's national parliamentary elections, Dogan said that those who expected a Messiah were in for a disappointment.

For those who, he said, had played with ethnic tensions, there was a warning in Scripture, Dogan said. "I won't say what this principle is, they must find it themselves".

His party had been the target for attack by almost all other parties. Some parties had won from this, and some had lost.

"This has been going on for the past 20 years," he said, yet the party had grown stronger, and he pitied those who sought to find an excuse for their performances in the MRF.

Dogan said that it was difficult for him to say whether it was good or bad for the MRF to be in government or opposition.

It would be "very interesting" for him to see Borissov as prime minister, Dogan said, adding later that he was "happy" that Borissov would take the post.

However, he was not optimistic about the prospects for the new government, which would not be stable, and lacked experts.

He urged those who were going to govern to be moderate in their statements.

Dogan said that it was to his "deepest regret" that the ethnic card had been played in these elections.

"I ask the representatives of Nato and the European Union to watch carefully what is going on in this country," Dogan said.

This was not a threat, he said, but questions of ethnic tension were bringing into question the foundations of Bulgarian society.

Asked whether the MRF had transformed from a political party into a corporate business structure, Dogan said no, but said that he did not see a problem "because these allegations don't scare us".

The MRF solved concrete problems with a policy relying on investments without relying on the Budget.

During the election campaign, the MRF had been the most tolerant party, and those who had attacked the MRF had helped it, Dogan said.

The MRF addressed concrete problems and did not offer vague promises about things that could not be achieved.

Dogan said that he respected the vote of the people, but said that this vote would not be sustainable, because it was based on emotions and hate speech.

After eight years in power, the MRF had increased its share of the vote by 20 per cent, something unprecedented in Bulgaria. This was because the party fought for every vote, in towns, villages and streets, and talked to people, Dogan said.

He said that Bulgaria was not mature enough for the majoritarian voting system, and said that some parties had made the mistake of deploying candidates on the basis of their renown as writers, musicians or popular personalities. People did not understand the role of politicians or cabinet ministers, Dogan said, or that people who were popular did not necessarily make good politicians.