Wikipedia

New Welfare Party

The New Welfare Party (Turkish: Yeniden Refah Partisi, YRP) is an Islamist and conservative political party in Turkey, founded on 23 November 2018.[6] The party positions itself as the successor to the Welfare Party (Turkish: Refah Partisi), which was a prominent Islamist political party in the 1990s.[7] The party's founder and leader Fatih Erbakan is the son of the late Turkish prime minister Necmettin Erbakan who was the founder of the original Welfare Party and the inspiration for the Millî Görüş ideology.[8]

New Welfare Party
Yeniden Refah Partisi
AbbreviationYeniden Refah (official)[1]
YRP (unofficial)
LeaderFatih Erbakan
FounderFatih Erbakan
Founded23 November 2018
Split fromFelicity Party
HeadquartersAnkara, Turkey
Membership (2024)Increase 365,767[2]
Ideology
Political positionFar-right[5]
ReligionSunni Islam
National affiliationPeople's Alliance (2023)
Colors
  •   Red (official)
  •   Grey (customary)
SloganMilletimiz için biz varız ("We are here for our nation")
Grand National Assembly
4 / 600
Metropolitan municipalities
1 / 30
Provinces
1 / 51
District municipalities
39 / 973
Belde Municipalities
24 / 390
Website
https://yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr/

History edit

YRP was established by Fatih Erbakan, who aimed to revive the legacy of the original Welfare Party, which had been a significant political force in Turkey before its closure by the Constitutional Court in 1998 for activities against the principle of secularism.[9] The founding of the New Welfare Party reflects an effort to re-enter the political scene with a reformed agenda that complies with the secular and democratic framework of the Turkish Republic while retaining a focus on Islamic values.[10]

On 21 January 2023, leader of the far-right Danish political party Stram Kurs, Rasmus Paludan was permitted to burn a Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.[11] Following the incident, the party protested Sweden in front of the Swedish Consulate-General in Istanbul.[12]

Initially a critic of the Justice and Development Party (AKP),[13] in 2023 the party announced Fatih Erbakan's candidacy for the presidential election.[14] However, the party later backtracked and instead announced their support for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, joining the People's Alliance on March 24, 2023.[15] The party ran under their own list at the parliamentary elections, securing five seats at the Grand National Assembly.[16]

Shortly after the elections, Erbakan changed his position again, leaving the People's Alliance in an attempt to gain Erdogan's Islamist conservative base. Erbakan has repeatedly criticized Erdogan's government over its pragmatism in regards to not embargoing Israel completely, and criticizes government's efforts to increase relations with Arab regimes like Egypt and the UAE.[citation needed]

Ideology and political positions edit

The party's ideology is rooted in conservatism and Islamism. The party was founded with the slogan "We are here for our nation".[17][18][19] They specified that their main goals are "First morality and spirituality, then to design the new world order under the leadership of Turkey."[20]

Fatih Erbakan has stated that the new party would replace the current system by a new presidential system, and that returning to a parliamentary system would be harmful. They would also take a strong anti-Zionist position like their predecessor.[21]

The party is against LGBT rights, and has declared that LGBT people are "a perversion banned in every religion".[22] The party aims to lift a law that protects women and children against domestic violence.[23][24] Party leader Fatih Erbakan is also an open supporter of the anti-vax movement. He claimed COVID-19 vaccines could lead to people giving birth to "half-human, half-monkey" children.[25]

Election results edit

Parliamentary elections edit

Grand National Assembly of Turkey
Election date Leader Votes % Seats Elections Position Current Position
2023 Fatih Erbakan 1,515,034 2.84%
5 / 600
 Providing confidence and supply Opposition

Local elections edit

Election Party leader Mayoral election votes Percentage of votes Municipal councillor votes Percentage of votes Number of municipalities Number of councillors Map
2024 Fatih Erbakan 2,851,784 6.19%  

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "PARTİ TÜZÜĞÜ | Yeniden Refah Partisi". yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr.
  2. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi" (in Turkish). Court of Cassation. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Erdogan verliert vor der Türkei-Wahl den ersten Bündnis-Partner" (in German). 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  4. ^ "Fatih Erbakan'a göre ha faşizm ha feminizm". 2023-03-13. Archived from the original on 2023-03-21.
  5. ^ "Turkish far-right 'unprecedentedly' consolidates voters". 16 May 2023.
  6. ^ "The threats and possibilities awaiting the gender-equal democracy in Turkey after the 2023 general elections". The London School of Economics and Political Science. 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  7. ^ Kızıl, Nurbanu (2020-12-31). "New parties to have little impact on future of Turkish politics, expert says". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  8. ^ "List of "Founders of the YRP"". Memurlar.Net (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  9. ^ "The New Welfare Party has been formed.. (Turkish)". YouTube.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  10. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi milletvekilleri kimler oldu? 28. Dönem Yeniden Refah Partisi milletvekili isimleri 2023". CNN TÜRK (in Turkish). Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  11. ^ "Turkey condemns Sweden protests, cancels ministers' meeting". The Washington Post. 21 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi Gençlik Kolları İsveç'te Kur'an-ı Kerim yakılmasını protesto etti". DHA | Demirören Haber Ajansı (in Turkish). 24 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  13. ^ "Erbakan: İktidarın emeklilik zamanı geldi".
  14. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi Cumhurbaşkanı adayı Fatih Erbakan kimdir, nereli, kaç yaşında? Necmettin Erbakan'ın oğlu mu?". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 20 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  15. ^ "Yeniden Refah Partisi, Cumhur İttifakı'na katıldı". Sözcü (in Turkish). 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  16. ^ Buyuk, Hamdi Firat (28 March 2024). "Fatih Erbakan: Turkish Islamist Leader Eyeing Erdogan's Crown". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  17. ^ We Are Here For Our Nation! YRP Department of Publicity Advertisement, 2019 (in Turkish), retrieved 2021-09-19
  18. ^ "Erhürman seçimde Refah Partisi'nin sloganını mı kullanacak?". Gazeddakıbrıs (in Turkish). 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  19. ^ "PARTİ PROGRAMI | Yeniden Refah Partisi". yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  20. ^ "TÜZÜK; Yeniden Refah Partisi". yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr.
  21. ^ "SİYASİ İŞLER BAŞKANLIĞI HAFTALIK RAPORU - 17.12.2020 | Yeniden Refah Partisi". yenidenrefahpartisi.org.tr.
  22. ^ Ensonhaber (2022-11-12). "Fatih Erbakan: İktidara gelince LGBTİ derneklerini kapatacağız". Ensonhaber (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  23. ^ "Turkey's ruling alliance welcomes Islamist parties with misogynist agendas - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  24. ^ Aydıntaşbaş, Aslı (2023-04-04). "Letter from Istanbul: Turkey has difficult years ahead". Brookings. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  25. ^ "Fatih Erbakan'dan aşı çıkışı: Yarı insan yarı maymun çocuklar doğurabilirler". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2023-03-12.

External links edit


   

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