Turkey's top court dismisses İYİ Party chair Akşener's appeal over expulsion from MHP

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has rejected İYİ Party leader Meral Akşener's application concerning her expulsion from the MHP back in 2016, saying that it did not have the authority to rule on this subject matter.

Duvar English

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has dismissed an appeal from İYİ (Good) Party chair Meral Akşener concerning her expulsion back in 2016 from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), citing “lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter,” daily Cumhuriyet said on July 3.

Before founding İYİ Party in 2017, Akşener used to be a lawmaker from the MHP. She was however expelled from the MHP on Sept. 8, 2016 for organizing an emergency convention that aimed to challenge the leadership of long-standing MHP head Devlet Bahçeli.

She then promised to found her new political party. Once she announced the formation of İYİ Party on Oct. 25, 2017, several other MHP members resigned from the party and joined İYİ Party.

Following her expulsion from the MHP, Akşener initially filed a lawsuit with an Ankara court, for the decision to be reversed. Once the Ankara 6th Civil Court of First Instance rejected her appeal, she this time took her case to the Constitutional Court.

The top court however dismissed Akşener's application at a June 30-dated meeting, claiming that it did not have the authority to rule on this subject matter.