People's Alliance (Turkey)

People's Alliance
Cumhur İttifakı
AbbreviationPEOPLE (CUMHUR)
Leader
Presidential candidateRecep Tayyip Erdoğan
Founded20 February 2018
IdeologyConservatism
Factions:
Right-wing populism
National conservatism
Neo-fascism
Social conservatism
Erdoğanism
Sunni Islamism
Neo-Ottomanism
Turkish-Islamic synthesis
Turkish ultranationalism
Millî Görüş
Euroscepticism
Kurdish-Islamic synthesis
Political positionRight-wing to far-right
Grand National Assembly
322 / 600
Metropolitan municipalities
16 / 30
District municipalities
972 / 1,351
Provincial councillors
945 / 1,251
Municipal Assemblies
12,992 / 20,498

The People's Alliance (Turkish: Cumhur İttifakı), abbreviated as PEOPLE (Turkish: CUMHUR), is an electoral alliance in Turkey, established in February 2018 between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the formerly opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The alliance was formed to contest the 2018 general election, and brings together the political parties supporting the re-election of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Its main rival is the Nation Alliance, which was originally created by four opposition parties in 2018 and was re-established in 2019.

History

Background

After the failure of the 2013–2015 peace process with the PKK, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) closed ranks. With the support of MHP, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan succeeded on passing the constitutional referendum in April 2017, which turned Turkey into a presidential system and expanded the executive power of the President of Turkey. Members of the MHP dissidents formed a new party, the moderate nationalist Good Party.

Formation

The alliance has a joint presidential candidate, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Each party is expected to nominate candidates for parliament separately.

On 23 October 2018, after a series of public disagreements between the AK Party and MHP, the MHP chairman Devlet Bahçeli formally announced that his party would no longer seek to field joint mayoral candidates in the March 2019 local elections. In response, Erdoğan stressed that the two parties were fundamentally different, and must go their separate ways on issues they disagreed on.[citation needed]

Public disagreements focused on a general pardon for pro-MHP prisoners, as well as a court decision to annul the abolition of the Student Oath. The oath had been abolished during the Solution process by the AK Party government in an attempt to appease the PKK, who regarded its recital as racist. The court's decision to re-establish it was strongly supported by the MHP, while opposed by the AK Party.[citation needed] However, both parties stressed that they didn't regard this as a dissolution of the alliance in the Turkish parliament and that the suspension of the electoral alliance for the local elections was only temporary.

On March 11, 2023, HÜDA PAR leader Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu announced that it would support the People's Alliance for the 2023 Turkish general election, also stating that it would continue its talks with the Alliance for the 2023 Turkish parliamentary election. The party will run within AKP's list. After some contradicting reports, New Welfare Party joined the People's Alliance on March 24, 2023.

Composition

Founding members

Party Leader Position Ideology MPs
AK PARTİ Justice and Development Party
Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Right-wing National conservatism
264 / 600
MHP Nationalist Movement Party
Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi
Devlet Bahçeli Far-right Turkish ultranationalism
49 / 600

Additional members

Party Leader Position Ideology MPs
BÜYÜK BİRLİK Great Unity Party
Büyük Birlik Partisi
Mustafa Destici Far-right Turkish Islamonationalism
0 / 600
Yeniden Refah Partisi New Welfare Party
Yeniden Refah Partisi
Fatih Erbakan Far-right Islamism
5 / 600

After the formation of the alliance, there was speculation in the Turkish media, as well as among prominent analysts and politicians, that other minor parties could join it before the 24 June 2018 elections. The parties most commonly mentioned as potential future members were the Great Unity Party (BBP) and the Felicity Party (SP). While the SP ruled out joining the alliance, the BBP entered talks to join. In early May 2018, the BBP ultimately joined the alliance on the lists of the AKP, while the Felicity Party instead aligned with the opposition Nation alliance led by the Republican People's Party.

On 2023, both BBP and YRP contested on their own lists as part of the alliance.

Supporting parties

Party Leader Position Ideology MPs
HÜDA PAR Free Cause Party
Hür Dava Partisi
Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu Far-right Sunni Islamism
Kurdish Islamonationalism
4 / 600
DSP Democratic Left Party
Demokratik Sol Parti
Önder Aksakal Centre-left Ecevitism
Social democracy
1 / 600
BÜYÜK TÜRKİYE Great Turkey Party
Büyük Türkiye Partisi
Hüseyin Durmaz Centre-right Pan-Turkism
Kemalism
0 / 600
DYP True Path Party
Doğru Yol Partisi
Çetin Özaçıkgöz Centre-right Liberal conservatism
0 / 600
YENİ DÜNYA New World Party
Yeni Dünya Partisi
Emanullah Gündüz Centre-right Conservatism
0 / 600
VATAN PARTİSİ Patriotic Party
Vatan Partisi
Doğu Perinçek Far-left Kemalism
Eurasianism
0 / 600
TÜRKİYE İTTİFAKI PARTİSİ Turkey Alliance Party
Türkiye İttifakı Partisi
Mehmet Sağlam Centre-right Kemalism
0 / 600
ÜLKEM My Country Party
Ülkem Partisi
Neşet Doğan Centre-right Turkish nationalism
0 / 600

The Free Cause Party (HÜDA PAR) supported the Alliance in the 2018 Turkish presidential election while contesting the 2018 Turkish parliamentary election as a stand-alone party. The party announced that they will support the alliance in the 2023 Turkish presidential election. The HÜDA PAR and DSP will contest on the AKP's list, while the Great Turkey Party and True Path Party will not contest. After the first round of the 2023 presidential election, Ancestral Alliance leader Sinan Oğan supported the People's Alliance.

Electoral history

Parliamentary elections

Election Parties Total alliance votes Total alliance seats Position
# % Rank # ±
June 2018
  • Justice and Development Party
  • Nationalist Movement Party
  • Great Unity Party
26,904,024 53.66% 1st 13Decrease Government
May 2023
  • Justice and Development Party
  • Nationalist Movement Party
  • Great Unity Party
  • New Welfare Party
  • Democratic Left Party
  • Free Cause Party
26,934,455 49.50% 1st 21Decrease Government

This page was last updated at 2024-01-05 04:59 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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