Turkey: AK Party Members Join Opposition
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Hundreds of Turkish Justice and Development Party members defect and join the opposing Republican People’s Party (CHP).
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Turkish President sued the opposition's Republican People Party leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu
AKP Deputy, Fatih Cengiz, along with 2500 members, announced resignation from the Justice and Development Party to join the Republican People’s opposition Party (CHP), as Turkish media stated.
“We set out with the CHP, and we will continue with it until the very end,” said Cengiz.
The CHP held a ceremony for welcoming the new members to the center-left party, and it was attended by Oguz Kan Salici, Vice-President of the opposition Republican People's Party, according to AFP.
In his turn, the Head of the Mus Province of the Republican People's Party, Ismail Adanur, welcomed the new individuals and thanked them for joining the party.
He added, “We will pursue the course of power launched by our president without any waste of time..."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had filed a lawsuit against opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Head of the Republican People's Party, for violating the President’s personal rights during his speech at the meeting of his party's parliamentary bloc.
Earlier, Erdogan's lawyer, Huseyin Aydin, filed a petition, stating that "Kiliçdaroglu, in his speech during the meeting of the Republican People's Party, directed severe insults to President Erdogan, in which he violated and infringed upon his personal rights."
The petition demanded that Kılıçdaroğlu be fined to pay compensation of 500,000 Turkish liras (about 57,500 dollars). The court's decision was published in a widely circulated newspaper.
It is noteworthy that the former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu left the Justice and Development Party in 2019 with a number of members, in light of differences with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This was days after referring Davutoğlu to the Disciplinary Council.
