A wave of resignations is shaking Turkey’s opposition Gelecek (Future) Party, with three more lawmakers quitting the party in the last three days amid speculation that some may be preparing to join the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The series of departures has reduced the party’s parliamentary representation to just four seats and deepened questions about its future role in Turkish politics. The party is led by Ahmet Davutoğlu, a former prime minister and AKP heavyweight who parted ways with the party several years ago.
He established the rival Gelecek Party in December 2019.
İstanbul MP Doğan Demir, the latest to leave, announced his resignation on X on Monday, becoming the third lawmaker to quit the party in three days. His departure follows those of fellow İstanbul deputies Selim Temurci and İsa Mesih Şahin, both of whom cited the party’s disconnect from public concerns and its centralized leadership style.
“A political party that is out of touch with the realities on the street cannot grow,” Temurci and Şahin said in a joint statement. “A political mentality of ‘small but mine’ will not yield the kind of politics Turkey truly needs.”
In his statement on X, Demir, one of the co-founders of the party, said: “There is no longer a sustainable political foundation. Despite nearly two years of internal warnings, we have failed to build a shared platform.”
The resignations leave the Gelecek Party with just four lawmakers in the 600-seat parliament: Selçuk Özdağ, Cemalettin Kani Torun, Sema Silkin Ün and Mustafa Bilici.
The Gelecek Party was able to enter parliament in the 2023 general election through an electoral alliance with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). Many of its candidates, including the lawmakers who have resigned, were elected from the CHP’s lists in a strategy aimed at consolidating opposition votes against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ally, the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
Earlier, three other Future Party members — Serap Yazıcı Özbudun, Mustafa Nedim Yamalı and Hasan Ekici — had also resigned and joined Erdoğan’s AKP. Media reports suggest Temurci and Şahin may follow suit, though they have yet to confirm any such move.
With the latest resignations from the Gelecek Party, the number of independent lawmakers in the Turkish parliament has increased to 14, reflecting broader fragmentation among the opposition following Erdoğan’s reelection and his alliance’s continued dominance of parliament.
The Gelecek Party’s rapid decline is another example of the challenges facing newer or splinter parties in Turkey’s polarized political landscape, particularly those that rely on electoral alliances for representation.