Three political parties on the edge of losing exclusive parliamentary rights are reportedly charting their future and planning a new alliance.
The Felicity Party (SP), Future Party (GP) and Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) had their parliamentary candidates run in Republican People’s Party (CHP) lists in the election, which ensured their survival in the 2023 electoral defeat thanks to this alliance.
The SP and GP formed a parliamentary group with a new alliance but the resignation of a GP lawmaker earlier this week endangered its survival. They lost the right to form a group as the number of their total lawmakers fell below the threshold of 20.
Media reports say SP now eyes an alliance with DEVA to revive the group, with two lawmakers from DEVA rumored to join SP. GP will likely contribute to the alliance as leaders of three parties held talks on Wednesday.
Ertuğrul Kaya, one of two lawmakers from DEVA rumored to switch sides to SP, said on Thursday that they attached importance to keeping an SP-led parliamentary group alive.
Meanwhile, DEVA lost another lawmaker and one of the founders of the party on Thursday as Mustafa Yeneroğlu announced his resignation.
Yeneroğlu, a former lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) just like party’s chair Ali Babacan, said in a social media post that DEVA failed to “ensure political communication it sought to form with people” and thus garnered to secure enough votes.
He said that the party failed to resolve its internal problems such as “lack of camaraderie, better working conditions and failure to connect with the people.”
The resignation of Yeneroğlu after Mustafa Nedim Yamalı who departed GP for the AK Party, sparked rumors of new transfers to the ruling party. The DEVA Chair Ali Babacan, however, denied this, claiming no DEVA member would join the AK Party, in a statement on Thursday.
The AK Party still retains the majority in Parliament with 268 seats, ahead of the CHP which has 129 seats. SP and DEVA trail far below other opposition parties including the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) and Good Party (IP).