No fifth party, vow MHP dissidents
ANKARA – Anadolu Agency
AA photo
Dissident members of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have ruled out any possibility of forming a new party, as a struggle continues over a congress to replace party leader Devlet Bahçeli.Following a two-hour meeting at a hotel in capital Ankara, MHP leadership hopefuls Sinan Oğan, Koray Aydın, Meral Akşener and Ümit Özdağ gave a press statement, vowing to “continue their legal battle until the end and hold their congress as soon as possible.”
“No ‘fifth party’ will emerge from here. Nothing will emerge from here other than the Nationalist Movement Party’s decision to hold its congress and choose a leader,” said Oğan.
Upon a question on their roadmap to a planned congress, Gaziantep MP Özdağ said they were gathering again on July 11 and would discuss the issue in further detail.
Amid numerous court rulings and counter court ruling, Turkey’s top election authority, the Supreme Election Board (YSK), recently ruled out a planned snap MHP congress that dissidents had arranged. The decision came amid a growing rift within the party, as dissidents bid to unseat long-standing MHP chair Devlet Bahçeli, who accuses his opponents of plotting against the MHP.
