MHP needs a renaissance, says resigned official
ANKARA
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The nationalist opposition party needs to launch a process to renew and regenerate itself, Oktay Vural, a leading party official who recently distanced himself from long-time leader Devlet Bahçeli by resigning from his parliamentary duties, said ahead of a critical extraordinary convention on July 10.“The future of the MHP [Nationalist Movement Party] cannot be dragged into chaos. There is a need for regeneration in the MHP. The rumor mechanisms drag us to disengagement,” Vural said in a written statement on June 23, a day after he resigned from his position as the deputy parliamentary group leader of his party. Vural was regarded as the second strongest voice within the MHP, after Bahçeli.
Vural’s resignation came after oppositional groups convened an extraordinary convention upon a court decision and made substantial changes to the party’s internal regulation so they could challenge Bahçeli’s leadership on July 10.
Underlining that his decision to resign was not made to seek a personal career, Vural said he would announce his position in the coming period on the eve of the leadership election.
There are four prominent candidates, Meral Akşener, Sinan Oğan, Ümit Özdağ and Koray Aydın, who have already announced that they will run against Bahçeli. Vural was also tight-lipped on whom he would support in the elections.