BETİMAR Research President: 'Erdoğan wants 400 deputies'

The AKP held its 8th Ordinary Congress in Ankara last Sunday. The congress was marked by deputy transfers from the Future Party (Gelecek Partisi) and the IYI Party. Following the joining of certain figures to the AKP, the People's Alliance's '360 deputy' demand has returned to the agenda. 

Guest on the Para Politika program hosted by journalist Özlem Gürses on Sözcü TV, BETİMAR Research Chairman Gürkan Duman said, "Erdoğan is a leader who has always drawn his power from the ballot box. Even if Erdoğan's perspective secures 360, he wants to reach 400." 

Commenting on the parliamentary arithmetic chart during the program, Özlem Gürses stated: 

"In the current situation, the AK Party had won 263 seats in the People's Alliance, and today it has managed to increase that to 272 through its transfers. The MHP had won 50 seats, it has dropped to 47. HÜDAPAR came in with 4 deputies and is maintaining that. The DSP came in with 1 deputy from the AKP list and is maintaining that. When we add them up, the People's Alliance has 324 deputies. It needs 36 deputies for a constitutional amendment.

The Nation Alliance had brought 131 deputies to the CHP; there is no breach there at the moment, but we know that the AK Party is working for a transfer from there. A major loss occurred in the IYI Party; they dropped from 43 deputies to 28. Some went to the independents' table, some transferred to the AK Party. DEVA came in with 15 deputies, the current situation is 2. Saadet came in with 10 deputies, the current situation is 1.  The Democrat Party came in with 3 deputies, the current situation is 1. The total number of deputies for the New Path is 24. The total number of deputies for the Nation Alliance is 191."

Duman said the following:

'ERDOĞAN WANTS TO REACH 400'

"Under current conditions, 360 is needed, but there is something to consider; one must see that 36 transfers are not necessarily needed for 360. DEVA and Future are continuations of the AK Party; in the IYI Party, we are talking about a secular nationalist party base. We see that the IYI Party has dropped to 28. There is a picture in Parliament with conservative-nationalist and conservative-democratic parties. I do not think the names here are distant from the People's Alliance. Even if Erdoğan's perspective secures 360, he wants to reach 400. Erdoğan is a leader who has always drawn his power from the ballot box"

News Source: 12punto