Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli told media after a weekly party meeting in Parliament that the controversial Gülen Movement is allegedly trying to seize the chairmanship of the MHP. Former MHP deputy Meral Akşener recently called a press conference on Monday as she seeks an extraordinary party congress to challenge the party leadership. Sources close to the MHP have indicated that Bahçeli does not expect Akşener - or any other candidate, including former MHP deputies Koray Aydın and Sinan Oğan – to gain the support of 650 delegates necessary to displace Bahçeli from his post.
After Bahçeli's repeated failures and the ongoing intra-party turmoil, party members and supporters have begun criticizing him for not challenging the three candidates for his position. However, despite the support candidates are receiving from the party's provincial heads and the number of delegates, MHP headquarters are not concerned, according to sources from within the party. The MHP headquarters are also pin-pointing those who support Akşener and so far their list includes former MHP deputies such as Necati Özensoy, Ahmet Duran Bulut and Müsavaat Dervişoğlu. It has further been determined by the MHP's headquarters that, along with party's provincial chairmen, a media group close to the MHP is supporting Akşener. It has further been indicated that even if Akşener and the other candidates receive the 249 signatures necessary to hold a statute congress, MHP officials have reported that the largest provincial organization of the MHP, located in Istanbul, does not support the politician; therefore, an extraordinary congress is not expected to be held before 2018.
The MHP, which previously had 1,141 delegates, is now expected to decrease due to the loss of deputies after the Nov. 1 election results. The final number of delegates is decided by MHP headquarters, which has the power to decide whether or not it will hold an extraordinary congress in the event that 249 signatures are gained.
