YRP leader Erbakan says AKP did not abide by electoral alliance protocol

Turkey’s radical Islamist YRP leader Fatih Erbakan has stated that the ruling AKP did not abide by the alliance protocol they signed before the 2023 elections, and that’s why there is economic turmoil in the country.

Saturday March 16 2024 04:26 pm

Osman Çaklı / Gazete Duvar

Turkey’s far-right Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP) leader Fatih Erbakan on March 15 stated that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) did not abide by the electoral alliance protocol they signed before the 2023 election.

Speaking during an iftar program of his party in Istanbul, Erbakan said citizens “who are fed up with taxes come to us. Today, the poverty threshold is 53,000 liras. 85 percent are poor and 45 percent live below the hunger threshold. While one million households received social assistance in 2002, today 4.5 million households need assistance. Why did this happen?”

“You give 11,000 liras to pensioners. They (the government) condemned the low-income people to hunger strike. Even on hunger strikes, people are given sugar supplements to prevent coma. No soup, yogurt, olives, meat, chicken, baklava, pastry. This is the situation Turkey is in,” Erbakan said.

He added that the reason for this economic turmoil is that “the protocol we signed before the May 14 elections has not been implemented.”

“They should cut the money they give to companies. They say pensioners need 1.4 trillion liras. The money they will give to interest is 1.2 trillion liras. If you save the money going to interest, you will save the pensioners. You did not implement the protocol of our Welfare Party,” he added.

Before the 2023 general election, two parties signed an alliance protocol, including subtle clauses to usurp the rights of women and the LGBTI+ community.

After the YRP decided to field mayoral candidates in key places following a negotiation disagreement with AKP, the AKP said the YRP has not been part of Turkey's ruling People’s Alliance anymore.

Erbakan claimed that they will garner 20 percent of the votes in the upcoming local elections to be held on March 31. “We have 475,000 party members. We grew 85 percent. MHP has 485,000 members. İYİ Party has 500,000 members.”

(English version by Alperen Şen)