According to Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), there are 103 political parties operating in our country. Cemil Çiçek, a veteran political figure, says that this number is 81. I wonder which of these two numbers is correct.
In my opinion, it is not important at all how many parties we currently have in Turkey. There are five parties with parliamentary groups. Including the ones without party groups, nine parties are represented in the parliament. The number of parties which will participate in the re-run of the mayoral election in Istanbul is only 12.
The ruling party and its ally (AK Party and MHP) stand on one side enjoying a powerful position to shape the political landscape of the country alone thanks to the ‘presidential system of government‘ which is in effect over a year, and everything in Turkish politics stand on the other side, because they are unimportant…
If you are the ruling party, you have the power to get a contested election annulled and re-run. What is more, if you form an alliance with the ruling party, you enjoy the privilege of saying that “There is no need for a new political party“.
The topic of ‘the number of parties in our country‘ itself has become a current issue just because of this.
The veteran politician, who seems to have found some coverage in media after having been assigned as a member to the High Advisory Council of the Presidency, brought up the question of “We have currently 81 political parties, what is the use of 82nd one?” to the agenda, while the leader of MHP shared his opinion about the topic with the public when he was asked about a leading political figure known to be in quest of founding a new party: “There are already 103 parties, if he intends to add the 104thone, I can only wish him all the best.”