İYİ Party city council member adds to tide of resignations

ANKARA

In a further blow to the İYİ (Good) Party's electoral strategy to go solo in next March's local elections, Atilla Çelik, a member of the capital Ankara's city council, has resigned from the party, pledging his support to the current mayor, Mansur Yavaş.

In a social media post on Dec. 21, Çelik cited a "sense of responsibility towards Ankara and fellow citizens" as the primary reason for his departure.

His move comes in the aftermath of the party's controversial choice to field its own candidates in all constituencies for the mayoral polls. The departure of members like Çelik is indicative of the fallout from this decision, resulting in a series of resignations and dismissals among lawmakers and key figures within the party and causing its parliamentary seats to drop to 38.

The decision to run independently represents a significant departure from the successful electoral cooperation seen in the 2019 elections, where a united opposition front, including the İYİ Party and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), secured victories in key battlegrounds such as Ankara and Istanbul.

At the center of the internal strife is İYİ Party leader Meral Akşener, who accused Yavaş, along with Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, of cowardice for not responding to her call to become the now-defunct opposition alliance's presidential candidate in the May election.

In his statement, Çelik criticized the party's shift, stating, "A principled and sincere understanding of politics would have required working with conviction to win back Ankara, not aligning with those who targeted Mansur Yavaş, who was deemed worthy of the presidency."

The six-way Nation Alliance featured former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaoroğlu as the presidential hopeful and mayors as his vice-presidential candidates.

Çelik pledged to continue his fight for Yavaş's victory in the March elections, echoing his support for the mayor in 2019.

Amid the internal dissent, some İYİ Party officials advocating for such an alliance with the main opposition party argue that running separate candidates could potentially give the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)-led alliance a significant advantage in key cities. With Yavaş and İmamoğlu already announced as the CHP's candidates once again, the ruling People's Alliance's candidates in Istanbul and Ankara are yet to be revealed.