Resignation earthquake in İYİ Party! Bahadır Erdem has also resigned

Following the announcement by former Central Bank Governor and İYİ Party member Durmuş Yılmaz that he was ending his membership, İYİ Party General Administrative Board (GİK) member Bahadır Erdem has also resigned.

Erdem's statement is as follows:

"THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR THE OPPOSITION..."

"Dear public,

I joined the İYİ Party family on September 20, 2020, at the invitation of our Chairperson, Ms. Meral Akşener, and for the past three years, I have exerted all my efforts with all my dedication and values to help our nation and our party reach the position they deserve.

When I entered politics, my intention was, just as in my law professorship to which I dedicated my life, to be useful to our country and its future, to use the knowledge and experience I possess thanks to the opportunities this country provided me for the benefit of our country and our nation, and to put my hand under the stone during the phase of overcoming the difficult period our Turkey has been going through in recent years and restoring a fair rule of law.

In this journey with the İYİ Party, which I embarked upon with this goal, I had the opportunity to get to know every corner of our country more closely, to make many friends, and to walk shoulder to shoulder with our party's hardworking youth, hopeful women, and organization whose hearts beat with love for the homeland. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our organization for their support and help during this process.

Coming to the present day, unfortunately, the opposition parties have been unsuccessful in the elections and have not been able to fulfill their promises. Our nation is sad, hopeless, and exhausted after years of ongoing failures. At this point, the only solution for the opposition parties is to take the necessary steps for new beginnings that will be a source of hope for our citizens who are 'trapped under government pressure, isolated, and dragged into an economic crisis.'

"I WOULD LIKE TO STATE THAT I FIND IT EXTREMELY WRONG"

However, while taking the necessary steps, opposition parties must weigh every decision they make carefully and avoid decisions that could cause great damage or even be irreversible. It should not be forgotten that the primary duty of political parties is to serve the country and the nation.

In this direction, I would like to state once again that I find the decision our party has taken and insists on not changing to enter the elections with separate candidates in 'all provinces'—in other words, ending the alliance that ensured victory in many provinces in the 2019 local elections—to be extremely wrong.

Undoubtedly, since the day it was founded, the İYİ Party has the right to determine its own candidates as an independent party that works for the benefit of our nation and takes responsibility.

However, on the other hand, it is obvious that the Istanbul and Ankara metropolitan municipalities remaining in the hands of the opposition has made a great contribution to the morale and life balance of our voters, and it is a fact that it weakens the power of the government in the regime of pressure it has established over the country.

"IT CREATES NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE AKP REGIME"

Furthermore, it is known to the residents of our two cities that our Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor, Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu, and our Ankara Metropolitan Mayor, Mr. Mansur Yavaş, have demonstrated extremely successful municipal activities despite all the obstruction efforts of the government.

In fact, this affection has transcended their own cities, and that is why Mr. İmamoğlu and Mr. Yavaş were nominated as executive Vice Presidential candidates to our nation in the 2023 General Elections through the initiatives of our party.

However, the insistence on including all provinces in the scope of fielding candidates in the '2024 local elections' unfortunately puts the opposition's control of Istanbul and Ankara at risk, and when we consider the major state crisis deliberately created regarding the Constitution in recent times, it creates new opportunities for the lawless AKP regime.

"I AM RESIGNING"

In this context, as a politician, a professor, and a lawyer whose goal since the day I joined the İYİ Party has been to change this government that has been in power for twenty-one years and to aim for the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in our country, it is impossible for me to accept the risking of existing gains. I would like to express that despite everything that has happened, I maintain my belief that honesty, transparency, and love for the homeland and nation are still valid currencies in politics and should remain so.

In line with all that I have explained, I am resigning and leaving our İYİ Party as of today.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me to this day, especially the İYİ Party Chairperson, Ms. Meral Akşener, my colleagues, our GİK members, our Provincial Administrations, and the good people of the İYİ Party."