The Democratic Progress Party ( Turkish: ''Demokratik Gelişim Partisi,'' abbreviated DGP) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

which adhered to

liberal conservatism Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

. It was founded by

Kütahya Kütahya (; historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion; Ancient Greek, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk River, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the seat of Kütahya Province and Kütahya District. In 19 ...

Member of Parliament

İdris Bal İdris Bal (born 25 April 1968 in Altıntaş Kütahya) is a Turkish politician and academic who led the Democratic Progress Party (DGP) between 4 November 2014 and 31 March 2015. He serves as a Member of Parliament for Kütahya Province, havin ...

on 4 November 2014. Bal had left the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) in November 2013 after Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

fell out with Gülen following the 2013-14 anti-government protests. Bal highlighted that the party would tackle the

democratic deficit A democratic deficit (or democracy deficit) occurs when ostensibly- democratic organizations or institutions (particularly governments) fall short of fulfilling the principles of democracy in their practices or operation. Representative and linked ...

within

Turkish politics Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

, claiming that the lack of democracy and the politicisation of the judiciary by the AKP were the two largest problems facing the country. Although he said that he hadn't met Gülen before forming the party, he said that he would be open to his, as well as everyone else's involvement in the party. Amongst possibilities that other MPs who had resigned from the AKP might join the DGP, Bal remains the party's only sitting MP. 12 hours after the party's formation, co-founder Fevzi Bubilik resigned and criticised the party for not being democratic enough. On 31 March 2015, DGP's leader and only MP İdris Bal resigned and left the party. He accused the media, in particular media linked with

Gülen movement The Gülen movement () or Hizmet movement () is an Islamist fraternal movement. It is a sub-sect of Sunni Islam based on a Nursian theological perspective as reflected in Fethullah Gülen's religious teachings. It is referred to by its membe ...

, of subjecting his party to censorship.

References

{{Historical parties in Turkey Defunct conservative parties in Turkey Political parties established in 2014 2014 establishments in Turkey Political parties disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Turkey Gülen movement