MHP makes legislative push regarding YENİ Party debate

The first assessment from the MHP has arrived regarding the debate that began after the Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor warned the YENİ Party—founded by Özgür Özel and 90 deputies who left the CHP—to "change its name" following an application by the Yenilik Party.

MHP Deputy Chairman and Ankara Deputy Feti Yıldız argued in a statement on his social media account that the conditions for the establishment of political parties and their participation in elections should be reconsidered.

Yıldız stated that there are 189 political parties in the records of the Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor, and according to the Supreme Election Council's (YSK) decision numbered 2026/159, only 41 of them have the eligibility to participate in elections.

Recalling the 2023 elections, Yıldız noted that 14 of the 24 parties that entered the election received vote shares between 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, and that some parties did not even reach a membership count of 100-200 people nationwide.

We have stated many times that it is easier to establish a political party than to establish a company. It is self-evident that there is a need for a new Law on Political Parties.

NEW CRITERIA PROPOSAL FROM YILDIZ

Stating that the contribution of structures described as "signboard parties" to political and social life should be discussed, Yıldız proposed stricter criteria for an official establishment to be considered complete.

According to the proposal by MHP's Yıldız, political parties should be required to fulfill the condition of organizing in at least 41 provinces and in one-third of the districts within those provinces; they must also have their provincial and district board member counts and a number of members equal to 0.1 percent of the relevant population or voter count certified by the Office of the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor and reported to the Ministry of Interior.

Yıldız expressed that political parties that do not meet these conditions should be considered as having "not completed their establishment."

The current membership count of the Yenilik Party, which came to the agenda with the name objection, is recorded as 7,043. The party finished the May 14, 2023, parliamentary general elections in last place with 11,171 votes, receiving 0.02 percent of the vote.

News Source: 12punto