Democratic Party
Demokrat Parti |
|
---|---|
President | Gültekin Uysal |
Founder | Mehmet Ağar |
Founded | June 23, 1983 May 27, 2007 (as DP) |
(as DYP)
Preceded by | Justice Party |
Headquarters | Sadik Ahmet Cad. no:3, Balgat - Ankara, Turkey |
Ideology |
Turkish Nationalism Economic liberalism Conservatism |
Political position | Centre-right |
International affiliation | None |
Colours | Red, White |
Slogan | "Another Turkey is possible" |
Parliament: |
0 / 550
|
Metropolitan municipalities: |
0 / 30
|
District municipalities: |
14 / 1,351
|
Provincial councillors: |
0 / 1,251
|
Website | |
www.dp.org.tr | |
The Democratic Party (Turkish: Demokrat Parti), abbreviated to DP, is a centre-right, conservative Turkish political party, established by Ahmet Nusret Tuna in 1983 as the True Path Party (Turkish: Doğru Yol Partisi or DYP). It succeeded the historical Democratic Party and the Justice Party, two parties with similar ideologies.
There have been four DYP governments since its foundation; one led by Süleyman Demirel, the other three by Turkey's first and only female prime minister, Tansu Çiller. The party now has only 4 seats in the Grand National Assembly after faring poorly in recent elections, when many voters defected to the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
On 5 May 2007, it was announced that DYP and the Motherland Party (ANAP) would merge to form the Democratic Party (Demokrat Parti). For that occasion, DYP renamed itself (based on the historical Democratic Party), and it was planned that ANAP would join the newly founded DP. Shortly before the election, however, the merging attempt failed. However, ANAP stated it would not contest the upcoming elections.
After the DP only got about 6% of the votes in the 2007 general election, Ağar resigned as party leader.
DYP and the Motherland Party eventually merged in November 2009.
The DYP was seen as a centre-right, Kemalist-conservative party. DYP's history spans back to the historical conservative Democratic Party, established in 1946 with the introduction of a multi-party system in Turkish politics.