MHP dissidents to submit signatures on Friday
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) will reportedly be dragged into a tough period with dissidents, as former MHP deputies Meral Akşener, Sinan Oğan and Koray Aydın on Friday will submit, in the presence of a notary public, a high number of signatures to call for an extraordinary congress .
The trio decided to wage a political war against MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli after the party's failure in the recent Nov. 1 elections. Akşener, Oğan and Aydın collected a sufficient number of signatures, according to MHP bylaws, allowing the chairman to call for an extraordinary congress.
Bahçeli disappointed the dissident side on Sunday by saying, "The MHP congress will be held on March 18, 2018. Until then, this is not something that concerns us." He ruled out any possibility for the dissidents to see an extraordinary congress in the near future.
The dissidents will have to endure a rough time if they want to run for the chairmanship before the party's next scheduled congress in 2018. According to MHP bylaws, an election for the chairmanship is disallowed in extraordinary congresses. Therefore, Akşener, Oğan and Aydın will first need to gather an extraordinary congress to change the bylaws.
On top of that, Bahçeli's remark in dashing the dissidents' hopes leaves only one choice for his opponents. Since Bahçeli called on them before the court on Sunday, the dissident side is expected to request that a court assign trustees to run the MHP. "Regardless of who collected whatever number of signatures, it will not be possible to accept it, and the legal route will be available for them. We recommend that they defend their rights not with us, but with the court," Bahçeli asserted.
Analysts who have been evaluating the situation within the MHP are giving Akşener the best chance for the MHP chairmanship. However, she has been recently struggling to cope with allegations that she is linked to the controversial Gülen Movement. Last month, MHP Chairman Bahçeli accused Akşener of being the political puppet of the movement. Akşener denied those claims, yet confused the public by saying, "I have no connection to the Gülen Movement. I would proudly have said so if I had."
Meanwhile, Oğan's candidacy for the MHP chairmanship at a possible congress is doubtful. Oğan, a former MHP deputy who was expelled from the nationalist party in August 2015, cannot run for the chairmanship, according to Bahçeli. "Thirteen fellow members have declared their candidacy for the chairmanship. One of them does not have such a right because he [Sinan Oğan] was expelled," Bahçeli argued in early December.
The trio decided to wage a political war against MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli after the party's failure in the recent Nov. 1 elections. Akşener, Oğan and Aydın collected a sufficient number of signatures, according to MHP bylaws, allowing the chairman to call for an extraordinary congress.
Bahçeli disappointed the dissident side on Sunday by saying, "The MHP congress will be held on March 18, 2018. Until then, this is not something that concerns us." He ruled out any possibility for the dissidents to see an extraordinary congress in the near future.
The dissidents will have to endure a rough time if they want to run for the chairmanship before the party's next scheduled congress in 2018. According to MHP bylaws, an election for the chairmanship is disallowed in extraordinary congresses. Therefore, Akşener, Oğan and Aydın will first need to gather an extraordinary congress to change the bylaws.
On top of that, Bahçeli's remark in dashing the dissidents' hopes leaves only one choice for his opponents. Since Bahçeli called on them before the court on Sunday, the dissident side is expected to request that a court assign trustees to run the MHP. "Regardless of who collected whatever number of signatures, it will not be possible to accept it, and the legal route will be available for them. We recommend that they defend their rights not with us, but with the court," Bahçeli asserted.
Analysts who have been evaluating the situation within the MHP are giving Akşener the best chance for the MHP chairmanship. However, she has been recently struggling to cope with allegations that she is linked to the controversial Gülen Movement. Last month, MHP Chairman Bahçeli accused Akşener of being the political puppet of the movement. Akşener denied those claims, yet confused the public by saying, "I have no connection to the Gülen Movement. I would proudly have said so if I had."
Meanwhile, Oğan's candidacy for the MHP chairmanship at a possible congress is doubtful. Oğan, a former MHP deputy who was expelled from the nationalist party in August 2015, cannot run for the chairmanship, according to Bahçeli. "Thirteen fellow members have declared their candidacy for the chairmanship. One of them does not have such a right because he [Sinan Oğan] was expelled," Bahçeli argued in early December.
Last Update: January 12, 2016 20:23