A lawmaker has joined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) days after resigning from the nationalist opposition İYİ (Good) Party, local media reported on Tuesday.
Nebi Hatipoğlu on Tuesday announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he would continue his political career in the ranks of the ruling AKP.
“I have joined the AKP family with the appreciation of our president, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” the MP said, sharing a photo that shows Erdoğan pinning a party badge on him. The scene took place before the Central Decision and Management Board (MKYK) meeting at AKP headquarters in Ankara.
Cumhurbaşkanımız Sayın Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’ın takdirleri ile AK Parti ailesine katılmış bulunmaktayım.
Rabbime dua ederim; çıktığım bu yolda beni mahçup etmesin. Milletimize ve çok sevdiğim Eskişehir’ime güzel hizmetler yapmayı nasip etsin.
Eskişehir’i merkeze koyan siyasetimi… pic.twitter.com/4IqeTylXdH
— nebi hatipoglu (@NebiHatipoglu) November 7, 2023
Hatipoğlu announced his resignation from the İYİ Party on Nov. 2, saying he had been experiencing “profound differences of opinion” with the party since the general election in May.
Büyük Türk Milleti’nin bilgisine;
Türkiye ve Eskişehir sevdalısı bir insan olarak çıktığım siyaset yolculuğunda, Eskişehir Milletvekili seçildiğim İyi Parti ile Genel Seçim sürecinden bu yana derin görüş ayrılıkları yaşamaktaydım.
Parti içi istişare sürecimizin de sağlıklı…
— nebi hatipoglu (@NebiHatipoglu) November 2, 2023
The lawmaker was known to have advocated İYİ Party’s alliance with the AKP.
İYİ had previously broken away from the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an election ally of Erdoğan’s ruling AKP. İYİ Party leader Meral Akşener, who was a member of the MHP for years, parted ways with the MHP due to disagreements and established her own party in October 2017.
The İYİ Party set up an alliance with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) before the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2018, which also continued for this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections, when the opposition bloc suffered a significant defeat.