Another Istanbul official of İYİ Party resigns over solo run decision

ANKARA

Ali Kıdık, a member of the İYİ (Good) Party's Istanbul municipal council and the founding director of the party's Istanbul branch, has resigned from his position, citing dissatisfaction with the party's strategy ahead of the upcoming local elections.

Kıdık's departure follows a contentious decision by the party leadership to field its own candidates in all constituencies for the March mayoral election, severing its longstanding alliance with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

In a statement on X, Kıdık expressed concerns about the party's direction, stating, "The İYİ Party, which we founded with great hopes, has unfortunately moved away from the reality of our country and has become an opposition to the opposition."

Despite the CHP's offer of cooperation, the İYİ Party opted to go "free and detached" in the local polls, a decision that has triggered a series of resignations and internal turmoil.

Kıdık lamented the party's shift away from addressing the pressing issues facing the country and accused it of prioritizing internal conflicts. "While this country has so many problems that deepen every day, it [the party] should seek solutions to the problems of society and show that it is an alternative to the current government," he wrote on Jan. 3

In a subsequent phone interview on private broadcaster KRT TV, Kıdık hinted at potential collaboration with Yavuz Ağıralioğlu, another former member of the party who is reportedly preparing to launch a new political entity.

The head of the İYİ Party's Istanbul municipal council, İbrahim Özkan, a proponent of electoral cooperation with the CHP, has already resigned along with five fellow council members.

İYİ Party officials advocating for an alliance with the CHP argue that running separate candidates could give the sole candidate of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)-led People's Alliance a significant advantage in the key battlegrounds.

The CHP has already announced incumbent mayors Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mansur Yavaş as its candidates in Istanbul and Ankara, while the ruling alliance's candidates are yet to be revealed.