Yeniden Refah, the Islamist party that contributed to Erdogan’s defeat in the Turkish municipals

The Turkish Islamist party Yeniden Refah made important progress in Sunday’s municipal elections to the detriment of the AKP, the party in power led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, establishing itself as the third national political force with 6.2% of the votes.

The Yeniden Refah (New Prosperity Party) is being pointed out as one of the causes of the defeat of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), in power since 2003, by attracting religious voters disappointed with Erdogan for maintaining trade relations with Israel, despite of his critical speech regarding the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Founded in 2018, this formation originating from political Islam claims the heritage of Necmettin Erbakan, the influential leader and mentor of the young Erdogan, who at the end of the 1960s announced the Islamist movement Milli Gorus (National Vision), inspiring numerous parties and associations in Turkey and among the Turkish diaspora in France and Germany, reports the AFP news agency.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then 21 years old, took his first steps into politics in this party, and it was with the help of his mentor Necmettin Erbakan that he won the municipality of Istanbul in 1994 as a candidate for the Refah party.

Erbakan reached the position of prime minister at the head of a coalition between June 1996 and June 1997, when he was deposed by the then powerful military hierarchy and the judiciary in what was defined as a “postmodern coup d’état” also by did not involve bloodshed, unlike the three previous military coups in 1960, 1971 and 1980.

Relations with his “spiritual father” deteriorated when Erdogan and his companions tried to dethrone Erbakan, and then formed the AKP in 2002, depriving him of his already declining influence.

Fatih Erbakan, one of the sons of the “hodja” (“teacher”) relaunches the party of his father, who died in 2011, in 2018, under the name Yeniden Refah.

According to several observers, and by contributing to the setback recorded on Sunday by President Erdogan, Erbakan’s son avenged his father.

Yeniden Refah defends a more rigid Islamo-conservative view of the world than the AKP, which privileges “morals and spiritual values”.

“We will close LGBT associations when we are in power. It is a heresy prohibited in all religions,” said its head.

The party opposes feminism and defended in 2021 Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, aimed at combating violence against women.

By opposing interest rates, which it considers a usury rate contrary to Islam, the party has stood out in recent months in denouncing commercial relations between Turkey and Israel despite the war in the Gaza Strip.

“If the Government ends trade with Israel, closes the Malatya radar station [instalada em 2012 pela NATO, aliança militar à qual pertence a Turquia] that protects Israel, and double the reforms to 20,000 Turkish pounds (580 euros), we are ready to withdraw our candidacy in Istanbul”, warned Erbakan on the eve of the vote.

According to analysts, Yeniden Refah obtained numerous votes by placing the war in Gaza and inflation — 67.1% last year — at the center of its campaign.

Yeniden Refah, which supported President Erdogan in the May 2023 presidential elections, won on Sunday two provinces, Sanliurfa (southeast) and Yozgat (center), which were run by AKP citizens.

With 6.2% nationally, it overtook President Erdogan’s coalition partner, the ultra-right Nationalist Action Party (MHP), which obtained 5% of the national vote.

“It is necessary not to trust those who try to make us lose, even if they have been by our side for some time”, Erdogan had warned.