site.btaMeral Aksener Gives Up Good Party Leadership following Defeat in Local Elections

Meral Aksener, the only female leader of a parliamentary party in Turkiye, said on Monday that she would not be running for the leadership of the Good Party.

"I will not run for party leadership at the upcoming extraordinary congress, which will set our strategy until 2028," Aksener said in a written statement released by Turkish media.

Aksener’s statement comes after the Good Party’s defeat in the March 31 local elections. Her party came in sixth with 3.8% of votes.

In last year's parliamentary and presidential elections, the Good Party was part of the opposition National Alliance, along with the secular Republican People's Party (CHP) and four other parties, and won 8.12%.

However, Aksener refused to collaborate with the Republican People's Party for the 2024 local elections. The Good Party nominated its own candidates and launched the most fierce campaign against the CHP candidates, including Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Eventually, the Good Party suffered its biggest defeat since its foundation in 2017. It won just one mayoral seat in the city of Nevsehir (Cappadocia).

Analyses indicate that most of the Good Party electorate has voted for CHP candidates.

In her statement, Aksener said she accepts full responsibility for her party's poor performance in the local elections and is willing to pay the price for it.

The Good Party will hold an extraordinary congress on April 27, 2024. There are currently two candidates for the leadership, Musavat Dervisoglu and Koray Aydın, who are among the founders of the party.