Victory Party (Turkey)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Victory Party (, ZP) is a
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
to
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
,
ultranationalist Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific ...
,
anti-immigrant Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political position that seeks to restrict immigration. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in ...
political party in
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 ...
founded on 26 August 2021 under the leadership of
Ümit Özdağ Ümit Özdağ (; born 3 March 1961, Tokyo) is a Turkish politician and the current leader of the Victory Party. He was deputy leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) from November 2015 to February 2016. He announced his candid ...
. The party was represented in the Grand National Assembly by a single MP, Özdağ himself, until it failed to pass the electoral threshold in the 2023 election and therefore was barred from any seats. The Victory Party is the continuation of the ''Ayyıldız Movement'' () initiated by Ümit Özdağ, which became a youth movement after the establishment of the party. The founding petition of the party was submitted to the
Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...
on 26 August 2021 and then the party was officially established.


History

The party was founded by Ümit Özdağ, due to his many disagreements with other Turkish parties, including corruption allegations, the demographic effects of the ruling AKP's refugee policies (which the Victory Party calls "strategic demographic engineering"), the "anti-democratic approaches" by the
İYİ Party The Good Party ( Turkish: ''İYİ Parti'') is a nationalist, Kemalist and conservative political party in Turkey, established on 25 October 2017 by Meral Akşener. The party's name and flag is a reference to the tamga of the Kayı tribe. Th ...
, and his feuds with the MHP and the modern CHP. In Özdağ's words, it was organized under the name of Ayyıldız Movement with the aim of "forming the motto of
Turkish nationalism Turkish nationalism () is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish culture, Turkish ...
along the lines of Atatürk" and submitted its founding petition to the
Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...
on August 26, 2021, when it was officially established. Party leader Ümit Özdağ declared
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
mayor
Mansur YavaÅŸ Mansur YavaÅŸ (; born 23 May 1955) is a Turkish lawyer and politician who is currently the Mayor of Ankara, holding the office since April 2019. He was elected in the 2019 Ankara mayoral election as the candidate of the Nation Alliance (Turkey), ...
as his favorite candidate for the 2023 presidential elections, although Yavaş was a member of the CHP. Yavaş stated the declaration was without his knowledge and consent, declaring he was not a candidate for president. Ümit Özdağ confirmed that his statement was not with the consent of the Mayor of Ankara, claiming "It would have been a plot if we informed Mansur Yavaş". In February 2023,
Muharrem İnce Muharrem İnce (; born 4 May 1964) is a Turkish physics teacher, school principal, sport executive, and politician. He is the founder and the incumbent leader of the Homeland Party since May 2021. Formerly a four term Republican People's Party ...
, the leader of the Homeland Party, announced that his party was discussing an
electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...
with the Democratic Left Party, the Victory Party, True Party and the Justice Party for the
2023 Turkish general election General elections were held in Turkey on 14 May 2023, combining 2023 Turkish presidential election, presidential elections and 2023 Turkish parliamentary election, parliamentary elections to elect 600 members of the Grand National Assembly of Tu ...
. On 6 March 2023, Muharrem İnce left the four-party alliance negotiations by sending a message to their
WhatsApp WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...
group. On 11 March 2023, the
Ancestral Alliance Ancestral Alliance or Ancestor Alliance (), stylized as ATA Alliance, was a right-wing electoral alliance in Turkey that was established on 11 March 2023 and consisted of the Victory Party, the Justice Party, the My Country Party and the Turkey ...
was formed with Victory Party, Justice Party, and two other minor parties. The alliance endorsed
Sinan OÄŸan Sinan OÄŸan (born 1 September 1967) is a Turkish politician who won a seat in the Turkish parliament in 2011 with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). He was the presidential candidate of ATA Alliance for the 2023 Turkish presidentia ...
as their presidential candidate in the
2023 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2023. The National Democratic Institute also maintains calendar of elections around the world * 2023 United Nations Security Council election * 2023 national electoral calendar * 2023 local elec ...
, who came in 3rd place in the first round. Victory Party received 2.23% of the vote and failed to pass the electoral threshold. On 24 May, Özdağ and the party announced they would back
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (; born 17 December 1948), also referred to by his initials KK, is a Turkish politician who served as the Leader of the Republican People's Party, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) from 2010 to 2023. He was Lis ...
in the second round of the elections. The same day, it was revealed that there had been talks on Özdağ's appointment as Interior Minister if Kılıçdaroğlu won the election and that the parties had agreed on a seven-point memorandum of understanding. However, the party's endorsed candidate, Sinan Oğan declared his support for
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan (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 ...
. Upon its establishment, the party had two MPs, Ümit Özdağ and . Koncuk later rejoined the İYİ Party. Özdağ continued his membership until his party failed to enter parliament in 2023. Ancestral Alliance was dissolved shortly after the election.


Controversies


Süleyman Soylu and Ümit Özdağ

On 5 May 2022, Ümit Özdağ made a press statement against the Interior Minister
Süleyman Soylu Süleyman Soylu (; born 21 November 1969) is a Turkish politician. He is a deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party. He previously served as the Minister of Labour and Social Security from November 2015 to August 2016 and the Minis ...
, who criticized him heavily in a television program, and stated that he would be in front of the Ministry of Interior building at 11:00 the next day and that he was waiting for Süleyman Soylu. Özdağ and the crowd went to the Ministry of Interior the next day, but were blocked by the police. The statements made by Özdağ in front of the Ministry, and the statements he made to Soylu increased the visibility of his party in the media. On 13 September 2022, a banner with the inscription "Domestic and National Escobar" on the Victory Party's
Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...
District Directorate building and a bald and halfless head image below was hung. The Prosecutor's Office quickly removed this banner, stating that it "insulted a public official". Although it was not disclosed which public official was effectively being insulted.


Devlet Bahçeli and Ümit Özdağ

In 2023, Ümit Özdağ criticised Devlet Bahçeli and described him as "an agent". Semih Yalçın, a high ranking MHP official later said that "Ümit Özdağ, who reveals his true colors by insulting our party, our chairman, and us, for revealing his hypocrisy, insincerity and bad intentions." He criticised Ümit Özdağ's father by saying "Ümit Özdağ's father, the late , left our late Chief
Alparslan Türkeş Alparslan Türkeş (; 25 November 1917 – 4 April 1997) was a Turkish politician, who was the founder and president of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Grey Wolves ''(Ülkü Ocakları)''. He ran the Grey Wolves training camps from ...
alone the day before the military memoir on March 12, 1971 and resigned on March 11. In other words, he had daggered his companion in the back and left. Ümit Özdağ was made a deputy by Mr. Devlet Bahçeli as 'maybe he will be a man' and important duties were assigned to him. However, he left everything and ran away, just like his father. He shot his companion in the back. It was a burden for Özdağ to work in the ranks of nationalism and the MHP; it was heavy. With the referral of the genetic heritage he carried, he threw himself into the arms of sedition, mischief and serialization at the first opportunity".


Leadership

These are the board members of Victory Party:


Electoral performance


Parliamentary elections


Presidential elections


Local elections


References

{{Turkish political parties Political parties established in 2021 Pan-Turkist organizations Nationalist parties in Turkey Turanism Right-wing populism in Turkey Right-wing populist parties Ultranationalist parties Far-right political parties in Turkey Anti-Arabism in Turkey Anti-immigration politics in Turkey Kemalist political parties 2021 establishments in Turkey