Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s former ally, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, will not attend the official Republic Day event in İstanbul on Oct. 29, the T24 news website reported.
Bahçeli’s MHP formed an alliance with President Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for the presidential and parliamentary elections of June 24, giving Erdoğan an easy win in the first round of the vote.
The alliance was ended by the two leaders earlier this week after heated discussions on a general amnesty proposed by the MHP and the recitation of a student oath in schools.
MHP Deputy Chairman Semih Yalçın on Friday recalled in a statement his party’s role in keeping Erdoğan in power, saying the AKP would regret its decision to undervalue the alliance.
Bahçeli was a fierce critic of the AKP until 2015, when Erdoğan’s party for the first time since 2002 lost its majority in parliament. The two leaders then became allies, with the AKP leaning to the far right of the political spectrum.
In the latest elections, the AKP was unable to retain its majority in the 600-seat parliament and needs the MHP’s support to pass legislation.
