The Victory Party ( tr, Zafer Partisi, ZP) is a
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
to
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
,
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
,
anti-immigrant
Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...
and
Kemalist
Kemalism ( tr, Kemalizm, also archaically ''Kamâlizm''), also known as Atatürkism ( tr, Atatürkçülük, Atatürkçü düşünce), or The Six Arrows ( tr, Altı Ok), is the founding official ideology of the Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurche ...
political party in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
founded on August 26, 2021 under the leadership of
Ümit Özdağ
Ümit Özdağ (born 3 March 1961) is a Turkish politician and current Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He was deputy leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) from November 2015 to February 2016. He announced his candidacy ...
. It is represented
in the
Grand National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to:
* Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania
* Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of R ...
by a single MP, Özdağ himself.
The Victory Party is the continuation of the ''Ayyıldız Movement'' initiated by Ümit Özdağ, which became a youth movement after the establishment of the party. The founding petition of the party was submitted to the
Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
on 26 August 2021 and then the party was officially established.
History
It was founded by Ümit Özdağ, due to his many disagreements with other Turkish parties, including corruption allegaions against other parties, the general and demographic effects of the ruling
AKP's refugee policies (which the Victory Paty calls "strategic immigration engineering"), the anti-democratic approaches by the
IYI Party, and his feuds with the
MHP and the modern CHP. In Özdağ's words, it was organized under the name of Ayyıldız Movement with the aim of "forming the motto of
Turkish nationalism
Turkish nationalism ( tr, Türk milliyetçiliği) is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a Turkey#Demographics, national, Turkish people, ethnic, or Turkish language, linguistic group. The term "ultrana ...
along the lines of
Atatürk" and submitted its founding petition to the
Ministry of Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
on August 26, 2021, when it was officially established.
The party leader Ümit Özdağ declared
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
Mansur Yavaş
Mansur Yavaş (; born 23 May 1955) is a Turkish lawyer and politician who is currently the Mayor of Ankara, holding the office since April 2019. He was elected in the 2019 local election as the candidate of the Nation Alliance, an opposition all ...
as the favorite candidate of the people "based on many contacts they made" and "called him for the duty" for
2023 presidential elections, although Yavaş is a member of the
CHP. Yavaş stated the declaration was without his knowledge and consent, declaring not as a candidate for presidency. Ümit Özdağ confirmed that his statement was not with the consent of Mayor of Ankara, claiming 'It would be a plot if we informed Mansur Yavaş' (against the other opposition parties).
Controversies
Suleyman Soylu and Umit Ozdag
On May 5, 2022, Ümit Özdağ made a press statement against the Interior Minister
Süleyman Soylu
Süleyman Soylu (; born 21 November 1969) is a Turkish politician. He is a deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party who currently serves as the Minister of the Interior since 31 August 2016. He previously served as the Minister of L ...
, who criticized him heavily in a television program, and stated that he would be in front of the Ministry of Interior building at 11:00 the next day and that he was waiting for Süleyman Soylu. Özdağ and the crowd went to the Ministry of Interior the next day, but were blocked by the police. The statements made by Özdağ in front of the Ministry and the statements he made to Soylu increased the visibility of the Zafer Party in the media.
On September 13, 2022, a banner with the inscription "domestic and national escobar" on the Victory Party's
Fatih
Fatih () is a district of and a municipality (''belediye'') in Istanbul, Turkey, and home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the governor's office, police headquarters, metropolitan municipality and tax office) but not the co ...
District Directorate building and a bald and halfless head image below was hung. The Prosecutor's Office removed this banner, stating that it "insulted a public official". It was not disclosed which public official was insulting.
Leadership
These are the board members of Victory Party:
References
{{Turkey-party-stub
Political parties established in 2021
Politics of Turkey
Nationalist parties in Turkey
Political parties in Turkey
Right-wing populism in Turkey
Right-wing populist parties
Anti-communism in Turkey
Right-wing politics in Turkey
Right-wing parties in Europe
Far-right political parties in Turkey