Statement from Erbakan! Why was there no agreement with the AKP?

Yeniden Refah Party Chairman Fatih Erbakan made evaluations regarding his party's decision to enter the elections separately from the People's Alliance (Cumhur İttifakı) on a TV100 program.

Erbakan said, "As the Yeniden Refah Party, we do not see this election as a survival election. The claim that the country is being lost due to the actions of a mayor is not logical."

Erbakan continued his remarks as follows:

"We also had criticisms regarding the government's stance on Gaza. This is also an important factor in the shaping of our alliance decision. Now, while these stood in one place, we were already looking at this issue with a reservation. The Gaza issue and the memorandum of understanding exist; these did not happen. Upon this, they came; we did not want to approach the people you form an alliance with in the elections with an attitude of 'we are not talking to you, go to another door'.

If such an alliance continues, could we be instrumental in the government taking positive action on the issues we criticize and are deprived of? That is, when we close the door, you cannot be instrumental in correcting these issues, but could you be instrumental while in an alliance? This thought also came up. Thus, we sat at the table so as not to reject their offer with a wholesale approach.

"THE NATION DOES NOT WANT US TO FORM AN ALLIANCE IN THIS ELECTION"

During the negotiations, we saw that the nation does not want us to form an alliance in this election. The nation does not want us to form an alliance in this election. The Yeniden Refah Party increased its number of members from 260 thousand to 440 thousand in 5.5 months; this means 70 percent growth.

When you register nearly 200 thousand members, you are interacting with 2 million people. There were even those among AK Party supporters who said, 'Do not form an alliance.' The second issue is that our organization has very serious reservations about this. Now, 90 percent are against the alliance. This time, we must show our own strength; this stance of our organization and our nation is extremely important.

As the Yeniden Refah Party, we do not see this election as a survival election. The claim that the country is being lost due to the actions of a mayor is not logical. A mayor cannot make laws, cannot change the constitution, cannot drag the country into war, and cannot make concessions in Cyprus or the Southeast. The powers and responsibilities of a mayor are clear. It is not appropriate or logical for a mayor to be reflected as a survival issue.

"OUR NUMBER OF MEMBERS INCREASED BY OVER 30 THOUSAND AFTER OUR ALLIANCE DECISION"

In the last election, a block formed on the other side, from leftists to rightists, from the religious to the conservative. An alliance was formed for Kılıçdaroğlu to be elected. Now, in this election, there is no such alliance on the other side. Everyone is entering a democratic race on their own. As a result, we decided not to enter with an alliance and to enter the elections with our own candidates in Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir.

Since February 3, when we announced the alliance decision, our number of members has increased by over 30 thousand. 30 thousand in 19 days means 50 thousand in a month. This is a record for our party. This is actually an indication that the people who said, 'Enter this election independently and we will vote for you,' were sincere in this."

News Source: 12punto