High-level resignation at DEVA Party

DEVA Party Deputy Chairman and Istanbul MP Mustafa Yeneroğlu has resigned from the party he helped found, with the following statement:

I would like to share with the public that I have resigned from the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA Party), which I am a founder of and where I have served as the deputy chairman responsible for Law and Justice policies for over 4 years.

I have made the necessary notification regarding my resignation, which I submitted to the Chairman on Monday, December 2, 2024, to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) today.

First and foremost, I would like to express my respect and gratitude to our Chairman, Mr. Ali Babacan, as well as to my esteemed colleagues and organization members with whom I have worked.

The reason for politics to exist is to increase the welfare and peace of the nation. The struggle to realize the ideal of democracy and the rule of law that our nation deserves is only possible with a political discourse that is clear, determined, and strong, alongside communication that is as emotional as it is rational. Political parties should never become an end in themselves, overshadowing the values we defend. The goal is for a libertarian understanding of democracy to take root in Turkey and to achieve the ideal of a true state of law.

We founded the DEVA Party with great devotion, hoping to be a remedy for Turkey's problems. We set out with the determination to be the staunch defenders of libertarian democracy, the principle of the rule of law, and the claim of a constitutional state. Together with our highly qualified friends, we worked day and night, regardless of all deprivations, for the sake of our high ideals. We prepared our plans and programs with a vision of a Turkey where every citizen has the right to live in peace and prosperity in a manner worthy of human dignity.

Unfortunately, in our party, which possesses the necessary program and human capital to achieve its goals, we could not produce the political communication we targeted. As a natural consequence of this, we could not show the resilience to gain the necessary favor from our nation.

Following the May 2023 general elections, there was a period of inertia that lasted for months, which I could not accept. Especially since the March 2024 local elections, where we received 0.41% of the vote, problems such as the inability to face our deepening issues; the inability to establish camaraderie; working conditions that could not be institutionalized; and the inability to establish strong communication with society or provide effective guidance on politics due to remaining sterile, could not be resolved despite all our efforts. These problems have moved the DEVA Party to a point far from carrying the claims it had at its founding.

The responsibility of the program we agreed upon under the roof of the DEVA Party and the companions who came together within the framework of this program is a heavy burden on me. I am saddened by the inability to carry this burden institutionally.

I am no longer in a position to ignore the fact that the fundamental problems, which perhaps existed since its founding and which we hoped would be resolved over time due to the priorities of our struggle, have deepened and become chronic after the general elections, and have now severely damaged hopes.

I can only invite our nation to a path and method I believe in, and I can only demand more effort from our organization members with this belief.

I ask for the blessing of all, especially our Chairman Mr. Ali Babacan, my fellow MPs, party executives, and our organization members, as well as the tens of thousands of our citizens who have put in effort within the DEVA Party so far, and I grant my own blessings to them.

As I have done until now, I will continue to work for the ideal of a Turkey where our nation lives in welfare and peace; and to defend the rights and laws of all our people, regardless of their ethnic identity, belief, political preference, or lifestyle.

Respectfully,

Mustafa Yeneroğlu