Good Party
The Good Party (Turkish: İyi Parti) is a nationalist and Kemalist political party in Turkey, established on 25 October 2017 by its current leader Meral Akşener. The party's name and flag is a reference to the tamga of the Kayı tribe. The party was formed as a result in a split by prominent former members of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and later joined by some former members of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). The party's founder and chairperson, Meral Akşener, and its deputy chairperson, Koray Aydın, are both former members of the MHP before establishing the party. Plans to form a new party emerged amongst prominent MHP defectors after the MHP's support for a 'Yes' vote in the controversial 2017 constitutional referendum, as well as a failed attempt to unseat the party's governing leader. In addition to endorsing a more moderate civic nationalism as opposed to the ardent ethnic nationalism of the MHP, the party runs on an anti-establishment platform criticising both the governing and opposition parties in Turkey for their ineffectiveness. The party describes itself as being in the centre of political spectrum and advocating for a positive agenda which will bring the European Union and Turkey closer again, and highlights that Turkey must continue being a part of the Western Bloc. Third-party sources have described the party as being centre-right or on the right-wing of the political spectrum. It puts a particular emphasis on the restoration of the parliamentary system and the integrity of the judiciary and other institutions. The party has been widely described as an anti-Erdoğanist alternative for right-leaning voters disillusioned with both the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP). İYİ participated in the Nation Alliance (Millet İttifakı) with the CHP, Felicity Party, and Democrat Party in the 2018 parliamentary elections winning 43 seats for themselves in the Grand National Assembly. Meral Akşener was the party's presidential candidate. They again contested the 2023 parliamentary election with the CHP in the Nation Alliance. History MHP leadership challenge Meral Akşener, a former Minister of the Interior who served from 1996 to 1997, was a prominent member of parliament from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) from 2007 to November 2015, having been a member of the centre-right True Path Party (DYP) during her ministerial career. Her relation with MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli became noticeably strained after Bahçeli refused to nominate her for another term as Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly after the June 2015 general election, a post she had held since 2007. Bahçeli eventually withdrew her parliamentary nomination before the November 2015 snap election, resulting in her losing her parliamentary seat. The MHP, having won 16.29% of the vote and 80 seats in June 2015, suffered a heavy defeat in the November snap election with just 11.90% of the vote and 40 seats. The loss was widely blamed on Bahçeli's refusal to consider any coalition agreement after the June 2015 election resulted in a hung parliament. The