Senior Turkish political figures criticized the opposition New Party (YP) after its lawmakers walked out of Parliament as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan prepared to address lawmakers at the opening of the new legislative year.

New Party leader Özgür Özel and lawmakers from his party left the General Assembly shortly before Erdoğan began his address Thursday, in what the party described as a protest against the president.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli criticized the move, saying it was politically inappropriate for the lawmakers to leave while Erdoğan was in the chamber.

"It was not politically right for New Party (YP) to leave while our president was in the hall,” Bahçeli told reporters at a reception marking the opening of the new legislative year.

Bahçeli, whose MHP is allied with Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said a recently established political party should seek to bring new approaches to politics.

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş also criticized the walkout, saying political differences and protests were legitimate parts of democratic politics but arguing that lawmakers should observe political courtesy during the annual opening ceremony.

"We would have preferred New Party lawmakers to listen to the president’s speech and not resort to such a course of action,” Kurtulmuş told reporters.

He said lawmakers had extensive opportunities to criticize the president and the executive once regular parliamentary proceedings resumed but described the opening of Parliament as an occasion for political parties to gather under the same roof despite their differences.

The walkout came during the special session opening the fifth legislative year of Parliament’s 28th term. Erdoğan delivered his annual address after Parliament Speaker Kurtulmuş opened the session.

The incident prompted criticism from senior members of the AK Party and officials in the presidential administration.

AK Party spokesperson Ömer Çelik described the decision to leave the chamber before Erdoğan’s speech as disrespectful to Parliament and the presidency.

Çelik noted the president’s address at the beginning of a legislative year was an established part of Türkiye’s parliamentary tradition and accused the YP of contradicting its calls for a stronger Parliament by leaving the chamber.

Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran also criticized the walkout, saying Parliament was a forum where differing political views should be expressed and debated.

Duran described YP lawmakers’ decision to leave the chamber as "a serious act of disrespect,” saying it went beyond a political stance against the presidency and showed disregard for the national will, state traditions and parliamentary conventions.

He said the move was inappropriate for Parliament and argued that democratic politics required not only expressing one’s own views but also tolerating opposing opinions and listening to the elected president in Parliament.

"Putting political disagreements ahead of long-established state traditions and the common rules of Parliament is incompatible with democratic representation.”

AK Party Deputy Chair Hüseyin Yayman also condemned the protest, accusing YP lawmakers of using the parliamentary session for political theater. He said lawmakers had the right to criticize or oppose Erdoğan but should do so through parliamentary debate.

The dispute underscored tensions between Erdoğan’s governing alliance and the YP, which was established in July under Özel’s leadership after he and 90 other lawmakers resigned from the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

The YP has since formed a parliamentary group, with Özel serving as its chair.

Kurtulmuş, responding to questions about opposition criticism more broadly, rejected claims that opposition voices were being prevented from speaking in Parliament.

He said seven parliamentary groups would participate when regular proceedings resume, five of them representing opposition parties.

The Parliament speaker also called on opposition parties to put forward proposals in the debate over a new constitution, saying disagreements over Türkiye’s presidential system and the president’s political party affiliation could be addressed as part of that process.

Despite the walkout, other opposition politicians remained in the chamber during the opening session. Erdoğan later greeted lawmakers from several parties following his address.

Parliament is scheduled to resume its regular legislative work on Oct. 6.