İstanbul MP Ümit Özdağ expelled from İYİ Party

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İYİ Party Disciplinary Board has unanimously decided to expel İstanbul MP Ümit Özdağ from the party. The decision of the board was announced to the public in a written statement yesterday (November 16).

According to the statement of the party, Özdağ has been expelled from İYİ Party on the the followings grounds:

"He acted and behaved in such a way to disregard the most basic principles such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law;

"He made unfounded allegations about the Party Chair, Executive Board, General Administrative Board, Central Disciplinary Board, Central Consultative and High Advisory Board members, İYİ Party MPs and mayors on social media, printed and visual media and repeated these allegations."

The statement has indicated that Özdağ has been definitely expelled from the party membership and the membership of the Founders' Committee in a unanimous vote as per the articles 76/D-a and I of the İYİ Party bylaw.

Özdağ: I will take it to court

Speaking to a reporter from the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Ümit Özdağ, who is now not an MP from the opposition İYİ Party, but an independent MP, has said that he has been expelled in an unjust move.

"I will now only take it to court," Özdağ has announced, adding, "I think that justice will be served at court. I do not accept this expulsion. This expulsion is against all basic principles of law."

İYİ Party Adana MP has resigned

* Photo: AA

On the other side, before the Disciplinary Board decided to expel Özdağ from the party, İYİ Party Adana MP İsmail Koncuk held a press conference at the Parliament and announced that he resigned from the party, saying that "he was no longer an MP from the İYİ Party, nor was he a member."

Accompanying Koncuk at the press conference, Özdağ heard about his expulsion from reporters. He did not answer the questions of journalists about the issue and said that he would make a detailed statement later.

As reported by the AA, Koncuk alleged that "dirty operations and plots which had nothing to do with democracy" unfolded in the general assembly meetings of the İYİ Party on August 3, 2019 and September 20, 2020.

Party's number of seats drops from 43 to 36

With the resignation of Adana MP İsmail Koncuk and the expulsion of İstanbul MP Ümit Özdağ from the party, the number of seats held by the opposition İYİ Party has dropped to 36.

At the last general elections on June 24, 2018, the İYİ Party passed the 10-percent electoral threshold and entered the Parliament with 43 MPs.

First, Democrat Party Chair Gültekin Uysal, who ran in the elections with the İYİ Party, resigned from the party. Then, İstanbul MPs Hayati Arkaz and Fatih Mehmet Şeker, Manisa MP Tamer Akkal, Balıkesir MP İsmail Ok and Antalya MP Tuba Vural Çokal resigned from the İYİ Party.

While İstanbul Milletvekili Arkaz then joined the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an ally of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Manisa MP Akkal and Antalya MP Çokal joined the AKP. Expelled from the MHP, Samsun MP Erhan Usta joined the İYİ Party.

With the latest developments, the İYİ Party's number of seats at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey has dropped to 36 and the number of Independent MPs has risen to nine as of November 17, 2020.

What happened?

It was previously reported that ahead of the 2nd Ordinary Congress of the İYİ Party on September 20, a list of members "to not be given votes" had been prepared and the name of İYİ Party İstanbul MP Ümit Özdağ was also allegedly on that list. Speaking to Ahmet Hakan on a live program on CNN Türk shortly afterwards, Ümit Özdağ accused İYİ Party İstanbul Provincial Chair Kavuncu of having affiliations with the FETÖ.

In response to this, 81 provincial chairs of the İYİ Party submitted a petition to the İYİ Party, requesting that Özdağ be expelled from the party. Shortly afterwards, Buğra Kavuncu announced that İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation against him.

On the other side, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Group Deputy Chair Bülen Turan shared a speech of his from a year ago on Twitter and said, "I don't know who is from the FETÖ and who is not in the İYİ Party, but a year ago, we said, 'İYİ Party has been established for an operation, the process of falling apart will begin after the election'."

While Ümit Özdağ denounced AKP's Turan over these remarks, İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener also commented on the latest developments in her party on October 20. In her speech at the İYİ Party weekly group meeting, Meral Akşener said, "Not what my friends say, but what AKP Group Deputy Chair Bülent Turan said today is important. We have come where we are by waging a struggle for democracy."

Referring to the remarks of AKP's Turan as "meaningful", Akşener added, "We, of course, knew that there would be an attack on our party, because we knew that after the polling companies got results of around 13-15 percent, winter would come as it always does, we will now see what will happen."

İYİ Party İstanbul MP Ümit Özdağ was referred to the İYİ Party Disciplinary Board on October 29, 2020 and expelled from the party in a unanimous vote on November 16. (EKN/SD)