The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy chair announced that the party’s central branch in Istanbul and branches in the city’s 39 districts were dissolved. Semih Yalçın revealed the decision in a social media post on Monday, citing that the move was in line with the party charter, allowing the central administration to dissolve any branch. However, he did not give a reason for the decision. Volkan Yılmaz, who served as mayor for Istanbul's Silivri district between 2019 and 2024, was appointed as the new director of the MHP's Istanbul branch.
The decision came more than one week after the party’s deputy chair, Izzet Ulvi Yönter, announced his departure from the post at MHP, a member of the People’s Alliance with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Unconfirmed reports tied Yönter’s resignation to a dispute with a party official, while MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli has announced that Yönter decided to focus on his academic career.
The MHP, one of the oldest nationalist parties in the country, survived multiple splits, which led to the foundation of the Good Party (IP) and the Victory Party (ZP). It still stands strong in the polls, trailing behind hte AK Party and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
This is not the first time that the party dissolved its Istanbul branches. All members of the branches were relieved of duties again in 2014.
Yalçın cited three articles of the party’s charter as the reason for dissolution. Among them are Article 52, Article 54 and Article 34. The said articles cover a wide range of causes for dissolution, including disciplinary proceedings.
