Click to read the article in Turkish
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Group Chair Engin Altay has declared that 15 CHP MPs have resigned and joined the İYİ Party.
Whether İYİ Party was eligible to join the June 24 snap election was a matter of debate and Supreme Election Board’s (YSK) decision was awaited. CHP has removed a potential obstacle before the İYİ Party with this move.
Altay: This is not a political but democratic disposition
Altay held a press meeting at parliament with CHP Party Spokesperson Bülent Tezcan, Deputy Group Chairs Özgür Özel, Engin Özkoç and the 15 parties who resigned from the CHP.
“15 CHP MPs resigned today (April 22) and joined the İYİ Party with not a political but democratic disposition”, Altay said and went on:
“This is a difficult task. This is a step to eliminate the trap set before democracy.
“This trap has come to light with the debate at the YSK. The council couldn’t make a decision. This is a very easy decision easily made in every election. The council delaying this decision to Monday shows that there are sneaky plans”.
Almost an hour after CHP’s move, the YSK has announced that the İYİ Party will be among the parties to join the election.
The MPs who moved to the İYİ Party
The MPs who resigned from the CHP and joined the İYİ Party are:
“Afyonkarahisar MP Burcu Köksal, Amasya MP Mustafa Tuncer, Ankara MP Nihat Yeşil, Aydın MP Hüseyin Yıldız, Balıkesir MP Ahmet Akın, Burdur MP Mehmet Göker, Bursa Milletvekilleri Nurhayat Altaca Kayışoğlu ile Erkan Aydın, Çorum MP Tufan Köse, Edirne MP Okan Gaytancıoğlu, İzmir MP Tacettin Bayır, Kayseri MP Çetin Arık, Kocaeli MP Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, Niğde MP Ömer Fethi Gürer, Zonguldak MP Ünal Demirtaş." (HK/TK)