DEVA party

Despite a substantial variety of political parties to serve, most of their leaders will be absent from the newly elected parliament.

The 28th term parliament, renewed by a 63-percent change in the deputies, will start its duty with a swearing-in ceremony in the following days.

Members of Turkey's parliament meet at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, TBMM, in Ankara, 2 January 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/STR

The 600-seat parliament will have 16 political parties thanks to the political alliance system that was introduced by the executive presidential system in 2018.

Former Turkish economy minister Kemal Dervis, August 21, 2002, in Ankara. Photo: EPA PHOTO EPA/TARIK TINAZAY

Nation Alliance leaders have visited earthquake-affected provinces of Türkiye on first day of Eid al-Fitr on April 21.

Nation Alliance presidential candidate and Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu visited Adıyaman, while chair of İYİ (Good) Party Meral Akşener was in Malatya on April 21.

Leader of main opposition Republican People's Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu (C), candidate of main opposition Republican People's Party for Ankara mayor Mansur Yavas and Republican People's Party candidate for Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu greet their supporters in Ankara, April 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/STRINGER.

The newly founded Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) will run independently in the upcoming parliamentary elections, the party chair, Ali Babacan, has said, stressing that his party will stick to its loyalty to the six-party opposition alliance.

A court in the capital Ankara has accepted an indictment prepared by a public prosecutor's office against Metin Gürcan, a co-founder of the opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) who was arrested on Nov. 26, 2021, on charges of "political and military espionage."

Leaders of six opposition parties that met on Saturday in Ankara. Photo: Republican People's Party, CHP

Idris Sahin, deputy chair of the DEVA Party, told BIRN the meeting on Saturday was "extremely important for building future of our country and agreeing on how to have a parliamentary democracy".

Metin Gürcan, a founding member of the opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), has been arrested and sent to prison over political and military espionage pending trial.

Gürcan, a former soldier, was detained on Nov. 26 in Istanbul as part of an investigation launched by the Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Oct. 12 accused the components of the Nation Alliance of "cheating" each other, although they had declared a consensus on the "strengthened parliamentary system."