Akşener re-elected as İYİ Party chair, takes an aggressive stance against other opposition figures

Ceren Bayar / Gazete Duvar

During the convention of the Good (İYİ) Party on June 24, Meral Akşener emerged victorious as she secured her re-election as the party's chair. Notably, she stood as the sole candidate in the convention, solidifying her position within the party's leadership after she received 1127 votes out of the 1151 delegates. In addition, the party's general executive board list was also extensively renewed.

The IYI Party broke away from the tradition observed by other political parties in Turkey by abstaining from extending invitations to other parties for their congress. 

Akşener made a very aggressive speech during the convention and started by criticizing her own party cadres. She stated that she cannot stand the “ugliness” of those who do not stop seeking higher positions in the party even after they are elected as MPs.

Akeşner also stated that she will do “what is necessary” for those who have been harming the party with their statements. She stated that the congress was a time of reckoning and that just as she would be held to account, she would also hold the party cadres to account.

Akşener also described the period when they entered the parliamentary elections by taking 15 deputies from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) as the biggest regret of her life. She added that this situation caused İYİ party to act like a “tail” for a while and created great distress for them. In 2018, 15 deputies from the CHP joined the İYİ Party in order to allow the latter to form a parliamentary group and thus remove the obstacle to its participation in the general elections.

Drawing attention to the “contributions” of her party in the 2019 Istanbul local elections, Akşener also expressed her discomfort with the statements that the elections were won thanks to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

Commenting on the loss of the presidential election, Akşener said, "I have not spoken for a month. Some opposition opinion leaders and political elites first attacked Mr. (Kemal) Kılıçdaroğlu. Then they lost the thread and began to attack İYİ Party and me for the defeat in the presidential elections.” She added that her party actively took place in Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s presidential campaign yet, their efforts have been ignored. 

She further noted that these critics were employing a similar rhetoric as those who expressed gratitude to the HDP for their victory in the Istanbul elections and added “I wish good luck to them in their lives.” 

After the end of the elections, the İYİ Party's relationship with other opposition parties has been deteriorated. Some top figures from the party stated that they parted ways from the main-opposition Nation Alliance.

The İYİ Party received 9.69 percent of the votes in the May 14 parliamentary elections (despite expectations of a higher rate) and won 43 seats in the parliament.

(English version by Can Bodrumlu)