A major 'U-turn' in politics: Voters chose the opposition, they ran to the AKP!

Following the March 31 local elections, transitions between political parties have accelerated. A total of 79 mayors and 14 members of parliament from different political parties and independent backgrounds have joined the AKP.

The highest number of defections in local government came from the New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah Partisi), led by Fatih Erbakan. In terms of parliamentary transfers, the most significant movement occurred from the IYI Party front.

HIGHEST NUMBER OF DEFECTIONS FROM THE NEW WELFARE PARTY

The distribution of mayors who joined the AKP is as follows:

New Welfare Party: 33 mayors

Republican People's Party (CHP): 17 mayors

Independent: 16 mayors

IYI Party: 8 mayors

DEVA Party: 2 mayors

Democrat Party: 2 mayors

Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi): 1 mayor

MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO JOINED THE AKP

It was stated that the number of members of parliament who joined the AKP following the May 14, 2023 General Elections reached 14 as of the beginning of 2026.

The members of parliament who switched to the AKP consist of the following names:

İdris Nebi Hatipoğlu

Seyithan İzsiz

Ahmet Ersagun Yücel

Dursun Ataş

Kürşad Zorlu

Mehmet Selim Ensarioğlu

Ünal Karaman

All of these individuals previously engaged in politics within the IYI Party.

THERE WERE ALSO JOINTS FROM THE FUTURE PARTY

Other members of parliament who joined the AKP included the following names:

Mustafa Nedim Yamalı

Serap Yazıcı Özbudun

Hasan Ekici

İsa Mesih Şahin

It was noted that these individuals previously engaged in politics under the Future Party (Gelecek Partisi) umbrella.

NAMES WHO SWITCHED FROM OTHER PARTIES

The other members of parliament who joined the AKP are listed as follows:

Suat Pamukçu — New Welfare Party

İrfan Karatutlu — DEVA Party

Hasan Ufuk Çakır — Republican People's Party