Welfare Party
Welfare Party Refah Partisi | |
---|---|
Founders | Ali Türkmen Ahmet Tekdal Necmettin Erbakan |
Founded | 19 July 1983 |
Banned | 16 January 1998 |
Preceded by | National Salvation Party |
Succeeded by | Virtue Party |
Headquarters | Ankara, Turkey |
Ideology | Millî Görüş |
Political position | Far-right |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Colors |
|
Slogan | Justice is our goal |
Party flag | |
The Welfare Party (
The Welfare Party participated in the
In 1998, the Welfare Party was banned from politics by the Constitutional Court of Turkey for violating the separation of religion and state.[2] The ban was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 13 February 2003. The ECtHR's decision was criticized by Human Rights Watch for lack of consistency, as the ECtHR had refused disbanding of other parties on several occasions, but the ECtHR defended its decision.[3][4]
Turkey's incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is a former member of the party.[5] After being banned from politics for a period, he left this Islamist group and founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Abdullah Gül, the former President of Turkey, was the deputy leader of the Welfare Party until its dissolution.
Lost Trillion Case
After the closure of the party, the Treasury demanded the return of grants worth around one
In the beginning of 1999, Necmettin Erbakan and 78 party officials stood trial in Ankara for embezzlement charges. The case became known as the "Lost Trillion Case" or the "Missing Trillion Case" (Turkish: Kayıp Trilyon Davası).[6][7][8] In March 2002, the court sentenced Erbakan to two years and four months in prison. 68 party officials received sentences of up to one year and two months in prison. The sentences were approved by the Supreme Court of Appeals.[9][10] The European Court of Human Rights upheld the ban as well.[11]
Foreign policy
Algerian Civil War
In the 1990s, both Algeria and Turkey had similar tensions between Islamists and a secular military. The Algerian military's intervention led to the repression of FIS and the subsequent Algerian Civil War in 1992, and the Turkish military forced the resignation of the Erbakan government and banned the Welfare Party.[12] Referring to the Civil War, Necmettin Erbakan said "Turkey will not turn into Algeria" in 1992[13] and in 1997.[14] However, on 10 May 1997, Welfare Party Şanlıurfa MP İbrahim Halil Çelik threatened that "If you try to close the İmam Hatip schools under the RP government, blood will be spilled. It would be worse than Algeria."[15] Erbakan and his associates developed ties with FIS, and when Erbakan visited the American Muslim Council in October 1994, he engaged with FIS representatives.[16]
Election results
Grand National Assembly
Election date | Party leader | Votes | % of Votes | Seats | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Necmettin Erbakan | 1,717,425 | 7.20% | 0 / 450
|
ANAP |
1991 | 4,121,355 | 16.87% | 62 / 450
|
DYP-SHP | |
DYP minority | |||||
1995 | 6,012,450 | 21.38% | 158 / 550
|
DYP-CHP | |
DYP-ANAP | |||||
RP-DYP | |||||
ANAP-DSP-DTP | |||||
DSP minority |
Local elections
Election date | Party leader | Provincial council | Number of municipalities | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | |||
1984 | Ahmet Tekdal | 780.342 | 4.40% | 16 / 1,700
|
1989 | Necmettin Erbakan | 2.170.431 | 9.80% | 74 / 1,984
|
1994 | 5.388.195 | 19.14% | 329 / 2,695
|
See also
References
- ^ Karadjis, Michael (19 October 1997). "Behind the Turkish Military's "Soft Coup"". Green Left Weekly. 294. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
- ISBN 9786054326730.
- ^ Turkey: Party Case Shows Need for Reform – Ruling Party Narrowly Escapes Court Ban, Human Rights Watch, 31 July 2008
- ISSN 1556-5157. Archived from the originalon 25 September 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
- ^ "Islamist party sees Erdogan support eroding in Turkey election". Reuters. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Leaders of now-defunct Welfare Party stand trial for fraud". Hürriyet Daily News. 9 February 1999. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Abdullah Gül, Erbakan'ı affetti". Radikal (in Turkish). 19 August 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Former President Gül testifies in 'lost trillion case'". Hürriyet Daily News. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ Korkut, Tolga (20 May 2009). "Ankara Court Rules that President Gül May Be Tried". Bianet Bağımsız İletişim Ağı. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
- ^ "Turkish supreme court ratifies imprisonment term for former PM". Kuwait News Agency. 2 December 2003. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
- ^ Childs, Martin (4 March 2011). "Necmettin Erbakan: Politician who served as Turkey's first Islamist prime minister". The Independent. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
- ^ Esposito, John L. (2000). "Islam and Civil Society". RSC Working Papers.
- ^ "'Türkiye, Cezayir Olmaz'". Milliyet. 7 November 1992.
- ^ "Erbakan: Türkiye Cezayir olmaz". Milliyet (in Turkish). 14 May 1997. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ^ Armutçu, Oya (17 November 1997). "Erbakan tutuklanabilir". Hürriyet. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- .