İYİ Party launches disciplinary procedure against MP Özdağ over FETÖ claims

ANKARA

İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener on Oct. 29 launched a disciplinary procedure for Istanbul Deputy Ümit Özdağ after the MP accused the party’s Istanbul Provincial Chair Buğra Kavuncu of links to FETÖ, a terror organization blamed for the July 2016 coup attempt.

Last week, the 81 provincial presidents and district heads of the İYİ Party submitted their petition to the headquarters requesting the expulsion of Özdağ.

The General Secretariat submitted their petitions to Akşener on Oct. 29, and she launched the procedure on the same day.

The disciplinary board will take Özdağ’s defense, examine the evidence, and make a decision.

On Oct. 19, Özdağ claimed that Kavuncu is a FETÖ member and conveyed his concerns to Akşener.

“He had served as the deputy leader of Kazakhstan Turkish Businessman Association, the biggest non-governmental organization of FETÖ abroad,” Özdağ said, informing that the institution was banned following the July 2016 coup attempt.

Özdağ also claimed that Kavuncu was the niece of Enver Altaylı, who was imprisoned on charges of being a member of the FETÖ. “I have informed and warned Akşener about this person. But she told me that she talked with two senior officials about him and she has not heard anything wrong.”

Kavuncu has refuted the claims and said he would file a lawsuit against Özdag.

On questions, Akşener had said that Kavuncu’s attempt to bring this claim to the court will provide necessary conditions for Özdağ whether he can prove them.

Ties between Özdağ and Akşener deteriorated in the aftermath of the İYİ Party’s general convention where another prominent figure, Koray Aydın, has reportedly used his influence to drop Özdağ while another member of the party had overthrown a dozen MPs from the party’s executive management. Led by Özdağ and Aytun Çırağ, the dissident group has begun to protest Akşener by not attending the party meetings, including weekly parliamentary group meetings.

Özdağ also criticized the İYİ Party for getting closer to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). “Those who argue this [the relationship between the İYİ Party and HDP] are liars,” Akşener said on Oct. 20.