Bahçeli makes first public appearance in over two months, dispelling death rumors

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli appeared in public for the first time in 66 days, putting to rest unfounded rumors of his death.

Bahçeli joined party members in visiting the grave of MHP founder Alparslan Türkeş in Ankara to mark the anniversary of his death. The 77-year-old politician was seen praying at the gravesite, as previously announced by the party.

Supporters greeted Bahçeli’s vehicle by tossing roses and chanting slogans such as “Keep going, your children are with you."

Başbuğ Alparslan Türkeş Kabri Başında Dualarla Anılıyor https://t.co/vXViQronPj

— MHP (@MHP_Bilgi) April 4, 2025

Bahçeli had not been seen in public since late January. The MHP announced that he had undergone surgery on Feb 4 to replace a heart valve, which had previously been replaced a decade earlier. The party attributed the procedure to complications that had emerged with the original implant.

Medical experts noted at the time that recovery from such a procedure could take two to three months for someone of Bahçeli’s age. Nevertheless, the extended absence gave rise to false claims that he had passed away.

In response, MHP officials repeatedly denied the rumors and noted that politicians and journalists from various backgrounds had spoken with Bahçeli by phone. Despite these reassurances, the rumors persisted until his appearance at today's ceremony.

Bahçeli has played a prominent role in shaping Turkish politics since the late 1990s. Since 2016, he has maintained a political alliance with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. That partnership was instrumental in moving Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential system, with Bahçeli backing the 2017 constitutional referendum that paved the way for the change.

In his most recent political initiative, launched in October, Bahçeli proposed a new Kurdish peace process. He suggested that imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan could benefit from a legal provision known as the “right to hope” if he called on the group to disarm. Bahçeli also recommended direct talks between Öcalan and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party.

Following meetings between DEM delegations and Öcalan beginning in December, Öcalan issued a statement urging the PKK to lay down its arms.

Despite health issues, Bahçeli seems at steering wheel of Turkey’s new Kurdish initiative

6 March 2025

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