Announced during holiday visit! First response from Saadet Party to merger claims with YRP

On the 2nd day of Eid al-Fitr, a delegation led by New Welfare Party Deputy Chairman Mehmet Fatih Uğurlu hosted a delegation led by Saadet Party Deputy Chairman and Istanbul MP Mustafa Kaya. 

The meeting also addressed the issue of trade with Israel and the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's children and grandchildren. 

"IT DEEPLY AFFECTED US ALL"

Saadet Party's Kaya stated regarding the killing of Haniyeh's 3 sons and 4 grandchildren by Israel, "The painful news we received yesterday about what is happening in Gaza deeply affected us all. At the same time, the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh's 3 children and grandchildren, and the fortitude he showed, made us feel that we are living in a completely different world. Our primary pain is Gaza; we hope that with this holiday, we will experience a period where the genocide there also comes to an end," he said.

"THESE ARE NOT GENUINE REACTIONS"

YRP's Uğurlu said regarding trade with Israel, "We want all trade to be cut off. First they said there was no trade, then they said there was trade and imposed restrictions. These are not genuine reactions," he said.

WILL SAADET PARTY AND YRP MERGE?

Saadet Party's Kaya responded as follows to the question, "The votes received by the parties after the local elections were widely discussed. Is a merger of the Saadet Party with the New Welfare Party on the table?":

"We are making our own assessment. The Saadet Party evaluates the results it received; there is no merger or separation on our agenda. We are currently on a holiday visit. Our opinions on how these will be evaluated, how it will happen, and which political party we will talk to about what issues will be evaluated later in our authorized bodies and disclosed to the public."

WHAT HAPPENED?

In the March 31 Local Elections, the New Welfare Party won 1 metropolitan and 1 provincial municipality, reaching a vote share of 6.19 percent across Turkey. The Saadet Party remained at 1.09 percent. Following the elections, the possibility of the Saadet Party merging with the YRP had come to the agenda.

News Source: 12punto