Will the İYİ Party have an alliance with the CHP?

The local elections are approaching.

The deputy head of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Mehmet Özhaseki and his interlocutor at the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Sadir Durmaz are expected to meet this week to discuss the conditions of the alliance. But no date for the appointment has been decided yet.

At the opposition front, the debates on the possible alliance revolves around the İYİ (Good) Party.

Based on an analysis drawing from the results of the June 24 general elections, the deputy head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Seyit Torun drew attention to the danger of losing the nine municipalities that the CHP currently holds in case of an alliance between the AKP and the MHP.

In case of an alliance with the İYİ Party, he argued that the CHP may protect some of the municipalities it currently governs. CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is also rumored to be positive about a possible alliance. After the defeat in the previous elections of June 24, the cost of a possible failure in the local elections is apparent. Therefore, they are open to any solutions, which might result to success in the local elections.

How about the İYİ Party’s thoughts about an alliance? Before we answer this question, I would like to share information about the cities where the İYİ party is expected to be influential. Accordingly, the İYİ Party is the second party in Burdur, the third in Çanakkale, Edirne, Eskişehir, Giresun, Kırklareli, Muğla, Sinop, Yalova, Tekirdağ and Antalya, fourth in Kocaeli, Hatay and Zonguldak.

In Istanbul, where a fierce competition is expected during the local elections, it is the fourth party with 8.3 percent. But, it has 10 percent of the total votes in the provinces of Istanbul like Bakırköy, Bayrampaşa, Büyükçekmece, Çatalca and Şile. It is the fourth party in Ankara, after the MHP. It has 10 percent of the total votes in the provinces of Ankara like Elmadağ, Etimesgut, Evren, Gölbaşı, Güdül, Kahramankazan, Kalecik, Keçiören, Kızılcahamam, Nallıhan, Şereflikoçhisar, Sincan and Yenimahalle.

In İzmir, it is the fourth with 10.9, after the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). It is the third party in İzmir’s provinces like Bayındır, Bergama, Beydağ, Bornova, Çeşme, Dikili, Foça, Gaziemir, Güzelbahçe, Karaburun and Karşıyaka.

‘No alliance’

Will the İYİ (Good) Party which was in the “People’s Alliance,” forged for the June 24 elections, also have a similar alliance with the CHP, Felicity (Saadet) Party and Democrat Party (DP) for the local elections? I spoke with the general secretary of the İYİ Party. “We are not considering to have an alliance with any political party in terms of institutional bases,” said Cihan Paçacı. But he kept the door open for an alliance at the constituency level. “The alliance is being made by the voters themselves in their local constituent regions. If the headquarters begin to form alliances, it will not give way to healthy results in terms of the voters. Because the dynamics of the local elections are different. In the elections, we will support our own candidate,” said Paçacı.

The CHP has an eye on the İYİ Party because voters can easily switch from one to the other in the Mediterranean, Aegean, Thracian and Marmara regions. One of them appeals to the ultra-patriotic, Kemalist and nationalist votes, the other appeals to the nationalist, conservative and democrat base. That is why the CHP is after a “union of forces” in the local elections.

The İYİ Party on the other hand does not want to take the position of a “support” factor for the CHP.

One of the İYİ Party leaders Ümit Özdağ had argued that an alliance in the June elections did not work well for the İYİ Party.

Currently, it looks like the İYİ Party will head to the polls on its own as the prevailing view is to go to the elections in order for the party to prove itself. The exception, however, could be a holy alliance with the Felicity Party and the DP.