# Parties contesting the June 2015 Turkish general election

This is a list of all political parties eligible and intending to contest the Turkish general election of June 2015. Parties wishing to contest were required to send a full list of their candidates to the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey by 17:00 local time on April 7, 2015. 20 of the 32 eligible parties submitted candidate lists. A full list of all political parties in Turkey is available here.

## Parties eligible

On 1 February, the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey announced that 32 parties fit the criteria in order to field candidates in the general election. In order to be eligible, parties need to have formed local organisations at least six months before the election and have completed their party congresses by the election. Furthermore, they need local party offices in at least half of the 81 Provinces of Turkey. The eligible parties who are intending to contest the election by fielding partisan candidates are listed as follows.
| Party | Party | Leader |
| ANAPAR | Anatolia Party | Emine Ülker Tarhan |
| MEP | Centre Party | Abdurrahim Karslı |
| KP | Communist Party | Özlem Şen Abay |
| MYP | Conservative Ascension Party | Ahmet Reyiz Yılmaz |
| DP | Democrat Party | Gültekin Uysal |
| DSP | Democratic Left Party | Masum Türker |
| DGP | Democratic Progress Party | İdris Bal |
| SP | Felicity Party | Mustafa Kamalak |
| İLK | First Party | Eran Tapan |
| HÜDA-PAR | Free Cause Party | Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu |
| ÖDP | Freedom and Solidarity Party | Alper Taş |
| BBP | Great Union Party | Mustafa Destici |
| YURT-P | Homeland Party | Sadettin Tantan |
| BTP | Independent Turkey Party | Haydar Baş |
| AKP | Justice and Development Party | Ahmet Davutoğlu |
| EMEP | Labour Party | Selma Gürkan |
| LDP | Liberal Democrat Party | Cem Toker |
| MP | Nation Party | Aykut Edibali |
| MİLAD | Nation and Justice Party | Mehmet Bozdemir |
| MHP | Nationalist Movement Party | Devlet Bahçeli |
| VP | Patriotic Party | Doğu Perinçek |
| HYP | People's Ascent Party | Ragıp Önder Günay |
| HTKP | People's Communist Party of Turkey | Umut Kuruç |
| HKP | People's Liberation Party | Nurullah Ankut |
| HDP | Peoples' Democratic Party | Selahattin Demirtaş |
| CHP | Republican People's Party | Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu |
| HEPAR | Rights and Equality Party | Osman Pamukoğlu |
| HAK-PAR | Rights and Freedoms Party | Fehmi Demir |
| HAP | Rights and Justice Party | Yiğit Zeki Öztürk |
| TURK-P | Social Reconciliation Reform and Development Party | Ahmet Eyüp Özgüç |
| DYP | True Path Party | Çetin Özaçıkgöz |
| GP | Young Party | Cem Uzan |

## Parties fielding candidates

Parties that intended to contest the election were required to hand their candidate lists to the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey (YSK) by 5pm local time on 7 April. 20 parties presented candidate lists before the deadline, while another, the First Party, was delayed by 22 minutes due to a traffic accident. The parties are listed below according to their position on the ballot paper.
The number of electoral districts in which the party is fielding candidates is shown in brackets after the party's name.
| Ballot # | Party | Party | Leader | Position | Ideology | Districts contested |
| 1 | DYP | True Path Party | Çetin Özaçıkgöz | Centre right | Economic liberalism | 56 |
| 2 | ANAPAR | Anatolia Party | Emine Ülker Tarhan | Centre left | Kemalism | 85 |
| 3 | HAK-PAR | Rights and Freedoms Party | Fehmi Fırat | Left wing | Kurdish nationalism | 75 |
| 4 | KP | Communist Party | Özlem Şen Abay | Far left | Communism | 85 |
| 5 | MP | Nation Party | Aykut Edibali | Centre right | Turkish nationalism | 85 |
| 6 | HAP | Rights and Justice Party | Yiğit Zeki Öztürk | Centre | Social Justice | 43 |
| 7 | MEP | Centre Party | Abdurrahim Karslı | Centre | Centrism | 73 |
| 8 | TURK-P | Social Reconciliation Reform and Development Party | Ahmet Eyüp Özgüç | Centre | Centrism | 55 |
| 9 | HKP | People's Liberation Party | Nurullah Ankut | Left wing | Communism | 85 |
| 10 | LDP | Liberal Democrat Party | Cem Toker | Centre right | Liberalism | 58 |
| 11 | MHP | Nationalist Movement Party | Devlet Bahçeli | Right wing | Turkish nationalism | 85 |
| 12 | HDP | Peoples' Democratic Party | Selahattin Demirtaş | Left wing | Democratic socialism | 85 |
| 13 | SP | Felicity Party (National Alliance with the BBP) | Mustafa Kamalak | Far right | Islamism | 85 |
| 14 | CHP | Republican People's Party | Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu | Centre left | Social democracy | 85 |
| 15 | AKP | Justice and Development Party | Ahmet Davutoğlu | Right wing | Conservative democracy | 85 |
| 16 | DSP | Democratic Left Party | Masum Türker | Centre left | Social democracy | 85 |
| 17 | YURT-P | Homeland Party | Saadettin Tantan | Centre right | Turkish nationalism | 56 |
| 18 | DP | Democrat Party | Gültekin Uysal | Centre right | Economic liberalism | 85 |
| 19 | VP | Patriotic Party | Doğu Perinçek | Left wing | Left-wing nationalism | 85 |
| 20 | BTP | Independent Turkey Party | Haydar Baş | Centre | Kemalism | 85 |
* Emine Ülker Tarhan, leader of the Anatolia Party (ANAPAR)
* Ahmet Eyüp Özgüç, leader of the Social Reconciliation Reform and Development Party (TURK-P)
* Cem Toker, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party (LDP)
* Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
* Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP)
* Ahmet Davutoğlu, leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP)
* Masum Türker, leader of the Democratic Left Party (DSP)
* Doğu Perinçek, leader of the Patriotic Party (VP)

## Parties contesting as independents

Since the parliamentary threshold of 10% does not apply to independent candidates, parties who poll significantly below the threshold may contest the election by fielding their candidates as independents in order to increase their chances of getting elected. This was a tactic employed by Kurdish nationalist parties during the 2007 and 2011 election. In the latter, the Peace and Democracy Party candidates won 5.67% of the vote and 35 were elected since they contested the election as independents and rejoined the BDP shortly after taking their seats.
The following parties have expressed intention of fielding independent candidates for the election.
| Party | Party | Party | Leader |
| | HEPAR | Rights and Equality Party | Osman Pamukoğlu |
| | HÜDA-PAR | Free Cause Party | Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu |

## Electoral alliances

The following electoral alliances were made between parties in the run-up to the election.
* The Labour Party (EMEP) announced support for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and did not contest the election.
* The Great Union Party (BBP) and the Felicity Party (SP) announced that they would contest the election as a joint alliance under the name National Alliance (Millî İttifak). The Nation and Justice Party (MİLAD) planned to join the SP and BBP, but it did not actualise. The candidate lists were drawn up such that BBP candidates were placed top in electoral districts in which they won more votes than the SP in 2011, while SP candidates were placed top in provinces in which the SP had beaten the BBP in 2011. This meant that an SP candidate was placed first in 55 provinces, while a BBP candidate was placed first in 30. The remaining positions subsequently alternated between SP and BBP candidates.
* Two minor parties, namely the Revolutionary People's Party (DHP) and Socialist Workers' Party of Turkey (TSİP) backed the Republican People's Party (CHP).
* The Conservative Ascension Party (MYP) announced support for the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
The True Path Party (DYP) expressed its intention to form an alliance with six other parties in order to overcome the 10% election threshold. The party's leader Çetin Özaçıkgöz met with the leaders of the Centre Party, Rights and Equality Party (HEPAR) and the Great Union Party (BBP). In the end, no alliance was formed.