Future Party (Turkey)

The Future Party (Turkish: Gelecek Partisi, GP) is a political party operating in Turkey, founded on December 12, 2019, under the leadership of Ahmet Davutoğlu. According to the party's bylaws, its official abbreviation is "Future Party." Its symbol is a sycamore leaf. It has four members in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. However, due to joint group efforts, all four are members of Yeni Yol. Its leader is Ahmet Davutoğlu. The party supports the strengthened parliamentary system proposed by the country's opposition parties. History Formation The Future Party was founded on 12 December 2019 by Ahmet Davutoğlu, a former foreign minister and prime minister on behalf of the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP). Having been elected prime minister on 28 August 2014 with the support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Davutoğlu later opposed the latter's moves to transform Turkey's form of government from a parliamentary to a presidential system. His conflict with Erdoğan culminated in Davutoğlu's resignation from the premiership, effective from 22 May 2016. Following his resignation, Davutoğlu frequently criticized the AKP government, which led the party to launch disciplinary actions against him. In response, he resigned from the AKP on 13 September 2019. He later expressed interest in forming a new party in opposition to President Erdoğan's administration, and ultimately launched the Future Party on 12 December 2019. The new party immediately published a list of 154 founding members which included numerous former AKP officials and affiliates. The Future Party opened its headquarters building in Çankaya on July 26, 2020. In the statement made by Davutoğlu on April 2, 2021, he stated that the party was entitled to participate in the elections by the Supreme Election Council (YSK). In Parliament On 6 July 2023, 10 deputies from the Future Party (Mustafa Nedim Yamalı, Serap Yazıcı Özbudun, Cemalettin Kani Torun, Sema Silkin Ün, Selim Temurci, Isa Messiah Şahin, Doğan Demir, Mustafa Bilici, Hasan Ekici and Selçuk Özdağ) agreed to establish a joint group in the parliament with the Felicity Party. Policies Davutoğlu has stated that the new party would push for a new constitution, a return to a parliamentary system, and education in minority languages. Moreover, the manifesto of the party criticized the current lack of rights for the Kurdish minority. Merger proposal to DEVA Party (2023) When agreement on forming a group failed, DEVA Party and the Future Party considered a full merger to form a group, and the possibility of a co-chairmanship was discussed. However, DEVA Party Chairman Ali Babacan deemed the co-chairmanship unsuitable, stating that it "could lead to dual leadership and a confusion of messages within the party leadership, and would be unsustainable. A party official who participated in the talks stated that the parties had considered "the possibility of a future merger by establishing an umbrella party in Parliament," but that this was not deemed feasible. It was also reported that the majority of DEVA Party organizations were unsympathetic to the idea of forming a group outside of the legal entity, and that discussions between the Felicity Party and the Future Party were ongoing, but had not yielded any results. Establishing a joint group with the Felicity Party On July 6, 2023, officials from the Felicity Party and the Future Party announced an agreement to establish a joint parliamentary group. Following the signing of a protocol titled "Felicity Party-Future Party Alliance," Future Party deputies Mustafa Nedim Yamalı, Serap Yazıcı Özbudun, Cemalettin Kani Torun, Sema Silkin Ün, Selim Temurci, İsa Mesih Şahin, Doğan Demir, Mustafa Bilici, Hasan Ekici, and Selçuk Özdağ resigned from their respective parties and joined the Felicity Party, enabling the Felicity Party to establish a parliamentary group. Selçuk Özdağ became the chairman of this new group. Election results Başkanlık Kurulu üyeleri Partinin başkanlık kurulu üyeleri aşağıdaki gibidir. General Presidents Parliaments Members of Parliament serving in the New Road group Future Party and elections Parliamentary elections The Future Party decided to participate in the 2023 general elections from the Republican People's Party lists. Nineteen places were reserved for the Future Party from the CHP lists. As a result of the elections, 10 people became members of parliament. Presidential Elections Local Elections Interim local elections The Future Party participated in the 2021 mayoral election in Güney, a town in the Sinanpaşa district of Afyonkarahisar. AK Party candidate Erol Karabacak was elected mayor, receiving 1021 of the 1606 valid votes cast, out of a total of 1709. The Future Party candidate, who finished fifth, received 17 votes. See also List of political parties in Turkey References External links Official website Twitter account