Nationalist Democracy Party ( tr, Milliyetçi Demokrasi Partisi, MDP) was a former political party in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Background

About one year after the coup of 1980, all political parties were closed by the military regime, or the so-called National Security Council or ( tr, MGK) regardless of their political views, on 16 October 1981. For approximately one and half year, there were no legalised political parties. Finally, MGK decided to allow the formation of new parties with severe restrictions on their activities. National Democracy Party was the very first party to be founded in 1983.

The history

The party was founded on 16 May 1983. The president of the party was

Turgut Sunalp Turgut is a Turkish given name. Turgut may also refer to: Given name * Turgut Alp, Ottoman military commander ** Turgut Alp (fictional character), a character based on Turgut Alp in ''Diriliş: Ertuğrul'' * Ankaralı Turgut (born 1963), Turkish ...

(1917-1999), a retired general who had also been Turkish ambassador to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

between 1976-1983. MGK permitted only three parties to participate in the elections held on 6 November 1983. Contrary to expectations National Democracy Party could receive only 23.3% and became the smallest party in the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. The support further dropped to 7.1% in the local elections held on 25 March 1984. The rapid loss of support resulted in disintegration of the party. In the congress held on 13 July 1985

Ülkü Söylemezoğlu Ülkü (literally: "ideal") is a Turkish surname and a unisex given name and may refer to: ;Given name * Ülkü Adatepe Ülkü Adatepe (born Ülkü Çukurluoğlu; November 27, 1932 – August 1, 2012) was the youngest adopted daughter of Mustafa ...

replaced Turgut Sunalp. On 4 May 1986 the party dissolved itself. The members formed three groups. 18 MPs attended Motherland Party and 22 MPs attended

True Path Party The True Path Party ( tr, Doğru Yol Partisi, DYP) was a centre-right political party in Turkey, active from 1983 to 2007. For most of its history, the party's central figure was Süleyman Demirel, a former Prime Minister of Turkey who previously ...

. The rest founded a short lived party named Free Democratic Party ( tr, Hür Demokratik Parti).Türkiye'nin 75 yılı, Hürgüç Gazetecilik, İstanbul,1998 pp 311-338

References

{{Authority control Political parties established in 1983 Defunct political parties in Turkey 1983 establishments in Turkey Political parties disestablished in 1986 1986 disestablishments in Turkey