The New Welfare Party will not join the People’s Alliance led by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the party’s leader Fatih Erbakan announced on Monday.
Erbakan made the announcement after almost 10 days of negotiations with the AKP, which opened cracks in the ruling party due to Erbakan’s insistence on the abolishment of a law on the Protection of Family and Prevention of Violence Against Women (law no. 6284).
The deputy chair of the AKP parliamentary group, Özlem Zengin, last week said that she received attacks and threats from AKP members following Erbakan’s request, after she defended women’s rights and the law.
Without giving reasons as to why the negotiations between the two parties failed, on Monday Erbakan said that New Welfare Party would enter the 14 May elections separately, and added that he will be nominated as the party’s presidential candidate.
