MP Hatipoğlu resigns from İYİ over 'differences' with party

Turkish right-wing opposition İYİ Party deputy Nebi Hatipoğlu has resigned from his party, citing “differences.” Hatipoğlu previously suggested forming an alliance with the ruling AKP for the upcoming local elections.

Thursday November 02 2023 07:06 pm

Duvar English

Turkish right-wing nationalist İYİ (Good) Party Eskişehir Deputy Nebi Hatioğlu on Nov. 2 announced his resignation from the party over “differences.”

In a statement, Hatipoğlu said he had different opinions from his party since the general election held on May 14.

“Due to the fact that our internal party consultation process is not working properly, I am resigning from the İYİ Party by informing our Chair Meral Akşener,” he added.

Büyük Türk Milleti’nin bilgisine;

Türkiye ve Eskişehir sevdalısı bir insan olarak çıktığım siyaset yolculuğunda, Eskişehir Milletvekili seçildiğim İyi Parti ile Genel Seçim sürecinden bu yana derin görüş ayrılıkları yaşamaktaydım.

Parti içi istişare sürecimizin de sağlıklı…
— nebi hatipoglu (@NebiHatipoglu) November 2, 2023

After his announcement, İYİ Party Eskişehir head Serdar Ulucan called on him to resign from the deputyship, as well, "as a matter of political ethics," Şenay Bilik Yıldırım from Gazete Duvar reported.

After the elections, Hatipoğlu suggested the İYİ Party to form an alliance with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), saying the alliance with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) brought harm to the party.

“I personally oppose our party's alliance with the CHP in the upcoming local elections (in 2024). This is not only my view, but the general view of our party's deputies. We encountered a churlish attitude (from the CHP) in every field. In the CHP-İYİ Party cooperation, we are always the losers,” Hatipoğlu said.

“The İYİ Party is always in a position to determine the winner. The cooperation with the CHP can be opened to discussion and the bloc formed by the right parties can be supported. I think, for example, AKP-MHP can be supported in Eskişehir. The result will be an undisputed victory and this is the best for Eskişehir,” he added.

Apart from Hatipoğlu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli also called on the İYİ Party to join their alliance.

After Hatipoğlu's resignation, the İYİ Party's parliamentary seats decreased to 43 (out of 600).

The İYİ Party previously announced that they will field their own mayoral candidates in all provinces for the local elections to be held on March 31, arguing the alliance politics fueled polarization in Turkey.

Founded in 2017 by Meral Akşener, İYİ Party is a MHP-breakaway party that aims to garner nationalist and centralist opposition votes.