Future, DEVA parties may soon join Nation Alliance: Akşener

ANKARA

The Future Party of Ahmet Davutoğlu and the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) of Ali Babacan - the two newly established political parties - may soon join the Nation Alliance, İYİ (Good) Party Chair Meral Akşener has said, stressing the alliance is ready for an early election in Turkey.

“Probably, there will be cooperation [between opposition parties]. I mean the DEVA and the Future Party,” Akşener told in a televised interview late May 5.

The Nation Alliance includes the İYİ Party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Felicity Party (SP) and the Democrat Party (DP). Both Babacan and Davutoğlu are in close contact with the components of the Nation Alliance but have not yet announced whether they will join the group.

Akşener said the People’s Alliance of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) would fail to garner the required 50 percent of votes in the next elections while the Nation Alliance has been expanding its influence.

Accusing the People’s Alliance of trying to cause a fit between the components of the Nation Alliance, Akşener vowed both the İYİ Party and the CHP were able to protect their integrity in the past period.

Although in cooperation, the opposition parties are also in competition, but in a gentle way, she stressed.

“Our prescriptions may be different, but we are on the same page when it comes to our vision about Turkey. The fact that we have differences grants us more power and energy,” Akşener said.

On a question about probable early polls, Akşener said they were ready for snap elections. Commenting on the opposition’s candidate for the presidency, she recalled that each political party ran in 2018 elections with its own presidential candidate and that helped President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to win the polls.