Nation Alliance (Turkey)

Nation Alliance
Millet İttifakı
LeaderCollective leadership (Table of Six)
Presidential candidateKemal Kılıçdaroğlu
Founded5 May 2018
Dissolved28 May 2023
IdeologyStrengthened parliamentary system
(ideologies vary by party)
Political positionBig tent
MembersCHP
İYİ
DEVA
GP
SAADET
DP
Slogan"United we will win!" (Birleşe birleşe kazanacağız!)
Grand National Assembly
212 / 600
Metropolitan municipalities
11 / 30
District municipalities
277 / 1,351
Provincial councillors
209 / 1,251
Municipal Assemblies
6,206 / 20,498
Website
milletittifaki.biz

The Nation Alliance (Turkish: Millet İttifakı), abbreviated as NATION (Turkish: MİLLET), was an electoral and political alliance in Turkey, made up of six opposition parties to contest the 2023 Turkish general election against its main rival, the People's Alliance.[1][2] Originally established prior to the country's 2018 general election,[3] the alliance had consisted of four opposition parties across the political spectrum, which had found common ground on withstanding Turkey's newly established presidential system.[4] The alliance dissolved in 1 June 2023 following its narrow defeat in the 2023 elections, after the Good Party's announcement that they were no longer a part of it.

Although Nation had become inactive as a bloc following their defeat in 2018; the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Good Party (İYİ) restored the alliance for the 2019 local elections, which delivered the opposition their first major electoral successes in years.[5] The alliance enlarged, welcoming two breakaway parties from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP); namely the Future Party (GP) and Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA).[6] Shortly after the enlargement, Nation Alliance announced its prospective government platform, becoming the first political entity in Turkey to do so prior to an election.[7]

Generally, the platform puts a particular emphasis on establishing a strengthened parliamentary system; reversing the current trend of democratic backsliding, reinstating rule of law and separation of powers, as well as improving Turkey's human rights record.[8][9]

The Nation Alliance of 2018, nominated their individual candidates for the presidency, and the alliance had more of an electoral focus than a political one, interconnecting parties with vaguely defined precepts.[4] The alliance of 2023 strived to act with consensus; laying the groundwork of a potential democratic transition in post-Erdoğan Turkey.[10][11]

  1. ^ "Turkish Opposition to Run Joint Candidate Against President Erdogan (2023)". Balkan Insight. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Opposition parties agree to unite against People's Alliance in upcoming Turkish elections". Daily Sabah. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  3. ^ Jean Yackley, Ayla (2 May 2018). "Turkish opposition joins forces for parliament vote — AlMonitor". www.al-monitor.com. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Seçim 2018: Millet İttifakı nasıl işleyecek?". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  5. ^ "İttifak bu kez AKP'ye kaybettirdi, CHP'ye kazandırdı: Ankara 25 yıl sonra el değiştirdi". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  6. ^ Büro, Ankara (21 December 2022). "2022'de Altılı Masa: Cumhurbaşkanı adayı 2023'e kaldı". Medyascope (in Turkish). Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  7. ^ Özgenç, Cansu Timur & Özgecan (31 January 2023). "Millet İttifakı, hükümet programını açıkladı: Sığınmacılara Türkçe öğretilecek". Medyascope (in Turkish). Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Millet İttifakı'nın hükümet programında neler var? – DW – 30.01.2023". dw.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Opposition Alliance in Turkey: Can it Restore Democracy?". IACL-IADC Blog. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  10. ^ Esen, Berk (9 January 2022). "The Opposition Alliance in Turkey: A Viable Alternative to Erdoğan?". Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP). Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Post-2023 Election Scenarios in Turkey". Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP). 22 September 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.

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