İYİ Party loses another lawmaker as Beyaz resigns

ANKARA

Istanbul lawmaker Ersin Beyaz resigned from the opposition İYİ (Good) Party on May 18, citing what he described as a widening gap between the party’s founding principles and its current political direction.

In a statement posted on social media, Beyaz said it had become “impossible” for him to continue his political activities under the party banner.

Beyaz served as the founding Istanbul provincial chair of the İYİ Party in 2017. The MP criticized what he called a lack of political dynamism and vision within the party, arguing that the movement had failed to fulfill the expectations and momentum created during its establishment.

He also said Turkish politics had increasingly become defined by polarized political blocs, leaving limited room for parties seeking a balancing role between rival camps.

With his resignation, the number of lawmakers who have left the İYİ Party since the latest elections has risen to 16. The party entered parliament with 44 seats after the 2023 polls, but its parliamentary representation has since fallen to 29 lawmakers after multiple resignations and transfers.

Beyaz said he would continue his political career outside the party, adding that his time in İYİ Party would remain “a valuable memory.”