Wikipedia

People's Alliance (Turkey)

The People's Alliance[14] (Turkish: Cumhur İttifakı), abbreviated as PEOPLE[a] (Turkish: CUMHUR), is an electoral alliance in Turkey, established in February 2018 between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the formerly opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).[15] The alliance was formed to contest the 2018 general election, and brings together the political parties supporting the re-election of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[16] Its main rival is the Nation Alliance, which was originally created by four opposition parties in 2018 and was re-established in 2019.[17]

People's Alliance
Cumhur İttifakı
AbbreviationPEOPLE (CUMHUR)
Leader
Presidential candidateRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
Founded20 February 2018
IdeologyConservatism
Factions:
Right-wing populism[1][2]
National conservatism
Neo-fascism
Social conservatism
Neo-Ottomanism
Turkish-Islamic synthesis
Turkish ultranationalism[3][4]
Islamokemalism
Euroscepticism
Kurdish-Islamic synthesis
Political positionRight-wing[9] to far-right[13]
Grand National Assembly
314 / 600
Metropolitan municipalities
12 / 30
Provinces
21 / 51
District
municipalities
492 / 973
Belde Municipalities
272 / 390
Provincial councillors
945 / 1,251
Municipal Assemblies
12,992 / 20,498

History

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Background

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After the failure of the 2013–2015 peace process with the PKK, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) closed ranks. With the support of MHP, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan succeeded on passing the constitutional referendum in April 2017, which turned Turkey into a presidential system and expanded the executive power of the President of Turkey. Members of the MHP dissidents formed a new party, the moderate nationalist Good Party.

Formation

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The alliance has a joint presidential candidate, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Each party is expected to nominate candidates for parliament separately.

On 23 October 2018, after a series of public disagreements between the AK Party and MHP, the MHP chairman Devlet Bahçeli formally announced that his party would no longer seek to field joint mayoral candidates in the March 2019 local elections. In response, Erdoğan stressed that the two parties were fundamentally different, and must go their separate ways on issues they disagreed on.[citation needed]

Public disagreements focused on a general pardon for pro-MHP prisoners, as well as a court decision to annul the abolition of the Student Oath. The oath had been abolished during the Solution process by the AK Party government in an attempt to appease the PKK, who regarded its recital as racist. The court's decision to re-establish it was strongly supported by the MHP, while opposed by the AK Party.[citation needed] However, both parties stressed that they didn't regard this as a dissolution of the alliance in the Turkish parliament and that the suspension of the electoral alliance for the local elections was only temporary.[18]

On March 11, 2023, HÜDA PAR leader Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu announced that it would support the People's Alliance for the 2023 Turkish general election, also stating that it would continue its talks with the Alliance for the 2023 Turkish parliamentary election.[19] The party will run within AKP's list.[20] After some contradicting reports, New Welfare Party joined the People's Alliance on March 24, 2023.[21][22]

Composition

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Founding members

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Party Leader Position Ideology MPs
AK PARTİ Justice and Development Party
Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi 		Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Right-wing National conservatism
265 / 600
MHP Nationalist Movement Party
Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi 		Devlet Bahçeli Far-right Turkish ultranationalism[23]
50 / 600

Additional members

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Party Leader Position Ideology MPs
BÜYÜK BİRLİK Great Unity Party
Büyük Birlik Partisi 		Mustafa Destici Far-right Turkish Islamonationalism[24]
0 / 600

Former members

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Party Leader Position Ideology MPs
YENİDEN REFAH New Welfare Party
Yeniden Refah Partisi 		Fatih Erbakan Far-right Islamism
4 / 600

After the formation of the alliance, there was speculation in the Turkish media, as well as among prominent analysts and politicians, that other minor parties could join it before the 24 June 2018 elections. The parties most commonly mentioned as potential future members were the Great Unity Party (BBP) and the Felicity Party (SP).[25] While the SP ruled out joining the alliance, the BBP entered talks to join.[26] In early May 2018, the BBP ultimately joined the alliance on the lists of the AKP,[27] while the Felicity Party instead aligned with the opposition Nation alliance led by the Republican People's Party.

On 2023, both BBP and YRP contested on their own lists as part of the alliance.

Supporting parties

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Party Leader Position Ideology MPs
HÜDA PAR Free Cause Party[28]
Hür Dava Partisi 		Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu Far-right Sunni Islamism
Kurdish Islamonationalism
4 / 600
DSP Democratic Left Party[29]
Demokratik Sol Parti 		Önder Aksakal Centre-left Ecevitism
Social democracy
1 / 600
BÜYÜK TÜRKİYE Great Turkey Party[30]
Büyük Türkiye Partisi 		Hüseyin Durmaz Centre-right Pan-Turkism
Kemalism
0 / 600
DYP True Path Party[31]
Doğru Yol Partisi 		Çetin Özaçıkgöz Centre-right Liberal conservatism
0 / 600
YENİ DÜNYA New World Party[32]
Yeni Dünya Partisi 		Emanullah Gündüz Centre-right Conservatism
0 / 600
VATAN PARTİSİ Patriotic Party[33]
Vatan Partisi 		Doğu Perinçek Far-left Kemalism
Eurasianism
0 / 600
TÜRKİYE İTTİFAKI PARTİSİ Turkey Alliance Party[34]
Türkiye İttifakı Partisi 		Mehmet Sağlam Centre-right Kemalism
0 / 600
ÜLKEM My Country Party[35]
Ülkem Partisi 		Neşet Doğan Centre-right Turkish nationalism
0 / 600

The Free Cause Party (HÜDA PAR) supported the Alliance in the 2018 Turkish presidential election while contesting the 2018 Turkish parliamentary election as a stand-alone party. The party announced that they will support the alliance in the 2023 Turkish presidential election.[36] The HÜDA PAR and DSP will contest on the AKP's list, while the Great Turkey Party and True Path Party will not contest. After the first round of the 2023 presidential election, Ancestral Alliance leader Sinan Oğan supported the People's Alliance.[37][38]

Electoral history

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Parliamentary elections

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Election Parties Total alliance votes Total alliance seats Position
# % Rank # ±
June 2018
  • Justice and Development Party
  • Nationalist Movement Party
  • Great Unity Party
 26,904,024 53.66% 1st 13  Government
May 2023
  • Justice and Development Party
  • Nationalist Movement Party
  • Great Unity Party
  • New Welfare Party
  • Democratic Left Party
  • Free Cause Party
 26,934,455 49.50% 1st 21  Government

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In the sense of 'common folk', 'the populace'.

References

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  1. ^ Gunes, Cengiz (2013). "The Kurdish Question in Turkey". Routledge: 270. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ Farnen, Russell F., ed. (2004). Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Identity: Cross National and Comparative Perspectives. Transaction Secularism Publishers. p. 252. ISBN 9781412829366. ..the nationalist-fascist Turkish National Movement Party (MHP).
  3. ^ Gerges, Fawaz (2016). Contentious Politics in the Middle East. Springer. p. 297.
  4. ^ "'Our bodies are Turkish, our souls Islamic!' The rise of Turkey's ultra-nationalists". Middle East Eye. 20 July 2018.
  5. ^ Soner Cagaptay (2015-10-17). "Turkey's divisions are so deep they threaten its future". Guardian. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  6. ^ Gerges, Fawaz (2016). Contentious Politics in the Middle East. Springer. p. 299.
  7. ^ Yilmaz, Gözde (2017). Minority Rights in Turkey. Taylor & Francis. p. 65.
  8. ^ "Turkish right-wing dissidents' bid to oust party leader foiled". Yahoo News. 15 May 2016.
  9. ^ [5][6][7][8]
  10. ^ Turkey Recent Economic and Political Developments Yearbook Volume 1 - Strategic Information and Developments. P.46. Published in July 2015 and updated annually. International Business Publications, Washington, USA. Accessed via Google books. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  11. ^ Global Turkey in Europe II. Energy, Migration, Civil Society and Citizenship Issues in Turkey-EU Relations. p.180. First published by Edizioni Nuova Cultura in 2014. Published in Rome, Italy. Accessed via Google books. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  12. ^ Turkish far right on the rise. The Independent. Author - Justin Huggler. Published 19 April 1999. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  13. ^ [10][11][12]
  14. ^ "AK Party, MHP to press button for 'People's Alliance'". Hürriyet Daily News. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan AKP-MHP ittifakının ismini açıkladı: Cumhur İttifakı". Sözcü. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Turkey's nationalist opposition to back Erdogan in 2019 election". Reuters. 2018-01-08. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Opposition parties agree to unite against People's Alliance in upcoming Turkish elections". Daily Sabah. 2 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Turkey: Will Erdogan's power take hit after losing his biggest political ally?".
  19. ^ "HÜDA-Par'dan Cumhur İttifakı'na destek". www.haberturk.com (in Turkish). 2023-03-11. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  20. ^ "Seçime AKP listesinden girecek olan HÜDA PAR'ın parti programından: Karma eğitimden vazgeçilmeli, zina suç sayılmalı!".
  21. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi, Cumhur İttifakı'na katıldı". Sözcü (in Turkish). 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  22. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi, Cumhur İttifakı'na katıldı: Protokol, YSK'ye teslim edildi". www.birgun.net (in Turkish). 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  23. ^ Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues. p.230. Author - Gus Martin. 4th edition. Published by SAGE in Los Angeles, California, USA. Retrieved via Google Books.
  24. ^ Cetinsaya, Gokhan (July–October 1999). "Rethinking Nationalism and Islam". The Muslim World. LXXIX (3–4): 374–375.
  25. ^ "Selvi'den Bomba İddia: AK Parti, MHP Dışında, SP ve BBP ile de İttifak İçin Görüşüyor". Haberler. February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  26. ^ "Felicity Party leader says joining People's Alliance not on agenda". Daily Sabah. 1 March 2018.
  27. ^ "Son dakika: BBP, AK Parti listelerinden seçime girecek". HaberTürk. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  28. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi Cumhur İttifakı'na katıldı! HÜDA PAR AK parti listelerinden seçime girecek..." Internet Haber (in Turkish). 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  29. ^ "Son dakika... DSP'den 'Cumhur İttifakı' kararı". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  30. ^ "Büyük Türkiye Partisi: Adaylarımızı Cumhur İttifakı'nı ve Erdoğan'ı desteklemek üzere geri çekiyoruz". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  31. ^ "DYP'den Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan'a destek kararı". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  32. ^ Haber7. "Yeni Dünya Partisi Baş Lideri Emanullah Gündüz Erdoğan'a destek çağrısı yaptı". Haber7 (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ "Perinçek'ten 'U' dönüşü! 2'nci tur için Erdoğan'a oy istedi". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  34. ^ "https://twitter.com/TPmehmetsaglam/status/1660991221131509762". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-05-23. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  35. ^ "Ülkem Partisi Genel Başkanı Neşet Doğan'dan Başkan Erdoğan'a destek: Türkiye'nin önüne çıkacak her engeli aşacak lider!". A Haber (in Turkish). 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  36. ^ "HÜDA-PAR kararını açıkladı: Erdoğan'ı destekleyeceğiz!". Rudaw. 2023-03-11. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  37. ^ "People's Alliance is home of true nationalists of Türkiye: Erdoğan". Daily Sabah. 22 May 2023. Erdoğan thanked self-styled nationalist Sinan Oğan for his endorsement but he rejected claims of bargaining to secure his support. "We had talks with (Mr). Oğan here in my office and today he announced he would support me and the People's Alliance. I thank him on behalf of myself and my party," the president told a live broadcast on TRT Haber.
  38. ^ "SON DAKİKA HABERİ: Sinan Oğan Cumhur İttifakı'na neden destek verdiğini açıkladı". NTV. 25 May 2023.
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