YRP official leaves door open to AKP! '24 hours is a long time in politics'

New Welfare Party (YRP) Chairman Fatih Erbakan announced that they would not form an alliance with the AKP in the local elections. Announcing that they would field their own candidates in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, Erbakan pointed to February 10.

ALL EYES ON FEBRUARY

However, despite Erbakan's announcement that they would not form an alliance in the May elections, he had announced shortly after that they would support AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. While all eyes in the political agenda are turned to February 10, when the YRP will announce its candidates, striking statements came from YRP Istanbul Provincial Chair Mustafa Doğan.

YRP OFFICIAL LEAVES DOOR OPEN TO ALLIANCE WITH AKP

Stating that there is currently no alliance with the AKP and that they have completed all their preparations, Doğan left the door open by saying, "24 hours is a long time in politics. It is hard to predict what will happen." 

Here are the highlights from the statements of Mustafa Doğan, who spoke to Ferhat Yaşar from Duvar:

The New Welfare Party announced that it would enter the elections with its own logo and candidates in all cities, especially in metropolitan areas. A similar decision was made before the last general elections, but you joined the People's Alliance at the last minute. Could a similar change of decision happen for the local elections?

There is a cliché that 24 hours is a long time in politics. As of this week, we read that candidates who announced their candidacy yesterday withdrew from the race. A dynamic process is ongoing. However, our current decision is to participate with our own candidates as the New Welfare Party in both metropolitan areas and all districts.

Is there a candidate name for Istanbul?

There is a big program in Ankara on Saturday. There will be very big surprises in this program. The candidates determined by the New Welfare Party in other provinces in Turkey have made a huge impact. The rallies they are holding are currently being talked about. In the same way, our Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate, whom our party has chosen very accurately and whom our people will say, "Oh, they thought this through very well," will be announced by our Chairman at the Ankara Atatürk Sports Hall.

What kind of profile are you thinking of?

We will hopefully come forward with a candidate who has internalized the National View (Milli Görüş), who will revive the service that has gone down in history as National View municipalism, and who will carry out work in a way that brings services to our citizens in the best possible way.

There are many alternative parties for conservative voters recently. What distinguishes you from DEVA, Future (Gelecek), Felicity (Saadet), and the AK Party, specifically in Istanbul? Why should voters choose you?

Let me tell you a difference right away. For example, when we announce our candidate, the parties you just listed, and the people we have worked with before, will say, "This is a very correct candidate, this candidate will bring service to the people of Istanbul."

Could a zipper system or an alliance be established in cities where the People's Alliance narrowly missed out in the general elections, such as Istanbul and Ankara, or in cities like Adana, Balıkesir, Denizli, and Uşak?

There is no alliance in question at the moment. The negotiations held with the AK Party to date have been inconclusive. Our Chairman, Dr. Fatih Erbakan, has shown all the good will he could during this negotiation process for the sake of AKP voters. He even fixed the glitches in the process as he went along. Therefore, there is no alliance in question at the moment. We have made all our preparations. Our district chairs and our Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate are ready.

Did you receive a partnership offer from the CHP?

No, we did not. Other collaborations are forming. However, we have not received an official invitation. We do not have any meetings either.

What effect did your partnership with the government in the last elections have on your base?

It was very accurate. Our Chairman made an excellent decision. When the agreements made by the Nation Alliance, which we call the opposition, came to light later, even our members who said, "Why are we forming an alliance with the AKP?" said, "It's a good thing the Headquarters made such a decision." Because so many secret, illicit agreements emerged that our nation was shocked. The agreements with Ümit Özdağ and the Green Left Party emerged after the election was over. Many promises were made. Promises were flying in the air. Later, there were parties that left. These departing parties do not contribute even one percent to the CHP side, but they received up to 40 parliamentary seats. It was a good bargain. When we evaluate the results, we put forward 30 articles for the welfare of our country and our citizens. We signed these articles. We followed up on them. None of these have anything to do with our party or any gain for our party. All of these are issues for the benefit of our citizens and the country. Our Chairman's decision ensured that we stood in the right place at the right time. In our alliance statement in the general elections, there was an issue of survival. The agreements in the Nation Alliance showed how grave an issue this survival matter was.