Leaders of five opposition parties that have no seats in Parliament held a meeting at a restaurant in Ankara on Saturday, though they remained quiet on the possibility of a future alliance. The meeting took place on the same day that the underdog Future Party (GP), led by former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, announced its formal dissolution.
Although democracy is a relatively new concept in the country, Türkiye hosts dozens of political parties. Yet, most fail to secure parliamentary seats in elections, as voters are not as fragmented as the parties themselves. The next election is likely to be a two-horse race between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the main opposition New Party (YP), but this did not deter the chairs of the Victory Party (ZP), National Path Party (MYP), Independent Party of Türkiye (BTP), Justice Party (AP) and Blessed Party (Kutlu Party) from coming together for consultations over the weekend. Remzi Çayır, chair of the MYP, told reporters that they may form an alliance in the future, while BTP chair Hüseyin Baş denied that the meeting focused on one. Ümit Özdağ of the ZP described the meeting as “a platform for fruitful consultations” and declined to comment on the possibility of an alliance. Özdağ’s ZP formed a separate opposition alliance in the 2023 general elections to challenge the ruling AK Party and a six-party opposition bloc, but his ATA Alliance collapsed when its candidate, Sinan Oğan, withdrew in favor of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the runoff.
It is unclear whether the five parties will be able to surpass other underdogs, such as the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and the Good Party (IP), in the next vote. Meanwhile, Davutoğlu’s GP gave up on July 29 when the politician announced he was ceasing political activities, roughly seven years after the party's foundation. The GP was luckier than the ZP and others, managing to sneak 10 lawmakers into Parliament by placing them on the candidates' list of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). However, seven of them resigned over the past three years, while the remaining members joined the New Path bloc led by the Felicity Party (SP).
