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Felicity Party

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Felicity Party
Saadet Partisi
AbbreviationSAADET (official)
SP (unofficial)
LeaderMahmut Arıkan
FounderNecmettin Erbakan
Recai Kutan
Founded20 July 2001 (2001-07-20)
Preceded byVirtue Party
HeadquartersZiyabey Cad. 2. Sk. No: 15, Ankara, Turkey
NewspaperMillî Gazete
Youth wingGenç Saadet
Membership (2024)Decrease 243,312[1]
IdeologyMillî Görüş[2]
Islamism[3]
Religious nationalism[4]
Political positionRight-wing[5]
National affiliationFelicity and Future Alliance
Colours  Hot pink (customary)
Grand National Assembly
10 / 600
District municipalities
1 / 922
Belde Municipalities
3 / 388
Municipal Assemblies
72 / 20,952
Party flag
Flag of the Felicity Party
Website
saadet.org.tr Edit this at Wikidata

The Felicity Party (Turkish: Saadet Partisi, SAADET) is an Islamist Turkish political party. It was founded in 2001, and mainly supported by conservative Muslims in Turkey.

It was founded on 20 July 2001 after the Virtue Party (FP) was banned by the Constitutional Court. While the party's reformist wing formed the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the hardliners founded the Felicity Party. Although an Islamist party, its policy platform covers the whole span of political issues in Turkey.

The Felicity Party's vote has been weakened by the success of the moderately Islamic Justice and Development Party government. It has repeatedly condemned the Turkish government's desire to join the European Union, and relationship with Israel and the United States. It has argued that Turkey must adapt its military and foreign policy stance to meet what it argues are increasing threats coming from the West to all Muslim countries. The Party's platform is based strongly around Necmettin Erbakan's ideas and philosophy.

History

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The Felicity Party has not been particularly successful electorally, polling just 2.5% of the vote in the 2002 general elections, thereby failing to pass the 10% threshold necessary to gain representation in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. It was slightly more successful in the local elections of 29 March 2004, winning 4.1% of the vote and a number of mayoralties, although none of any particular significance. In the 2011 election they were reduced to 1.24% on the vote. During the period, Recai Kutan (20 July 2001 – 11 May 2003 and again 30 January 2004 – 29 March 2008), Necmettin Erbakan (11 May 2003 – 30 January 2004 and again from 17 October 2010[6] till his death on 27 February 2011) and Numan Kurtulmuş (26 October 2008 – 1 October 2010) were leaders. In June 2015 elections it won 2.06% of the votes.

National Alliance

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In preparation for the June 2015 general election, the Felicity Party stated that it was open to negotiate an electoral alliance with other parties such as the Great Union Party (BBP) and the larger Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Although the MHP later announced that it was not willing to form an electoral alliance, the Felicity Party (SP) and BBP agreed upon a new alliance in order to increase their chances of surpassing the election threshold of 10% to gain representation in Parliament. The new alliance was named the National Alliance (Millî İttifak).

The Nation and Justice Party (MİLAD) also expressed their intention to join the alliance, but when they were only given top spots on the candidate lists in only 4 electoral districts, MİLAD withdrew and was unable to contest the election for not sending their own party lists to the Supreme Electoral Council on time.

The candidate lists were drawn up such that BBP candidates were placed top in electoral districts in which they won more votes than the SP in 2011, while SP candidates were placed top in provinces in which the SP had beaten the BBP in 2011. This meant that an SP candidate was placed first in 55 provinces, while a BBP candidate was placed first in 30. The remaining positions subsequently alternated between SP and BBP candidates.[7] SP leader Mustafa Kamalak was selected as the first candidate for İstanbul's 1st electoral district while BBP leader Mustafa Destici was selected as the first candidate for Ankara's 2nd electoral district.[8]

Nation Alliance

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See also: 2018 Temel Karamollaoğlu presidential campaign
Felicity Party's vote distribution in 2019 local elections

The party participated in the Nation Alliance in the 2018 general elections with the Republican People's Party (CHP), Good Party (İYİ), and Democrat Party (DP).[9]

In 2022, the party took part in the establishment of the Table of Six.[10] It received 10 deputies from CHP's list in the 2023 parliamentary election, and supported Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's candidacy in the 2023 presidential election.

Since 2023

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On July 6, 2023, SP and the Future Party formed a parliamentary group under SP's banner, and competed in the 2024 local election in an electoral alliance.[11][12] Saadet received 1.09%, and Gelecek 0.07%, of the electorate.

Political positions

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The Felicity Party works both as a political party and an enormous social organization. It has party branches in nearly every district, small town and city in the country.

In the past, it has organized demonstrations on a wide range of issues, often involving tens of thousands of participants. Thousands of protesters joined SP organized demonstrations against the 2004 attack on Fallujah, against the cartoons of Muhammad in newspapers around the world, and Israel's invasion of Gaza during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. SP has criticized the Trump administration over attacks against Iranian forces, and condemned both the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi and the assassination of Qasem Soleimani.[13][14][15]

SP has been accused by Arab and pro-government commentators of pursuing pro-Iranian views due to former SP leader Mustafa Kamalak's comments and visits to Iran.[16][17][18]

Party leaders

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# Leader
(Birth–Death) 		Portrait Took office Left office
1 Recai Kutan
(1930–2024)		 20 July 2001 11 May 2003
2 Necmettin Erbakan
(1926–2011)		 11 May 2003 30 January 2004
(1) Recai Kutan
(1930–2024)		 8 April 2006
(acting from 30 January 2004)		 26 October 2008
3 Numan Kurtulmuş
(1959–)		 26 October 2008 17 October 2010
(2) Necmettin Erbakan
(1926–2011)		 17 October 2010 27 February 2011
4 Mustafa Kamalak
(1948–)		 5 March 2011 30 October 2016
5 Temel Karamollaoğlu
(1941–)		 30 October 2016 27 November 2024
6 Mahmut Arıkan
(1977–)		 27 November 2024 Incumbent

Election results

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Parliamentary elections

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Grand National Assembly of Turkey
Year Leader Votes % Seats +/- Position
2002 Recai Kutan 785,489 2.49 (#8)
0 / 550
 Extra-parliamentary
2007 820,289 2.34 (#6)
0 / 550
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
2011 Mustafa Kamalak 543,454 1.27 (#4)
0 / 550
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
June 2015 949,178 2.06 (#5)
0 / 550
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
November 2015 325,978 0.68 (#5)
0 / 550
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
2018 Temel Karamollaoğlu 672,139 1.34 (#6)
2 / 600
[a] 		Increase 2 Opposition
2023 Ran on CHP list
10 / 600
 Increase 8 Opposition

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ 2 deputies elected on CHP list

References

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  1. ^ "Saadet Partisi" (in Turkish). Court of Cassation. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "Erdogan verliert vor der Türkei-Wahl den ersten Bündnis-Partner" (in German). 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  3. ^ Benjamin Bruce, ed. (2018). Governing Islam Abroad: Turkish and Moroccan Muslims in Western Europe. Springer. p. 25. ISBN 9781317755098. Over the last years, it seems that Süleymancılar vote has increasingly become split between the far-right nationalist Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP), the Islamist Felicity Party, and the AKP.
  4. ^ Necati Polat, ed. (2016). Regime Change in Contemporary Turkey: Politics, Rights, Mimesis. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781474416993. In the nationwide local elections in March 2004, the Islamonationalist Party of Bliss (or Felicity Party, Saadet Partisi, SP) representing the settled Islamist outlook in politics for some time, from which the AKP had departed abandoning its identity discourse for a wider slant, would sink to 4 per cent.
  5. ^ "Opposition Felicity and Future parties to form alliance for upcoming local elections". 13 August 2023.
  6. ^ "84-year-old Erbakan elected Felicity Party leader". Today's Zaman. October 18, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  7. ^ "SP-BBP işbirliğinin ismi belli oldu: Millî İttifak-İzmir Haberleri". Archived from the original on 2015-04-12. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  8. ^ Şafak, Yeni (April 12, 2015). "İşte SP-BBP ittifakının aday listesi". Yeni Şafak.
  9. ^ "Seçim 2018: Muhalefetin kurduğu Millet İttifakı nasıl işleyecek?". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  10. ^ "Altı Siyasi Parti Genel Başkanının Ortak Açıklaması". chp.org.tr (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  11. ^ Solaker, Gülsen (7 July 2023). "Gelecek ve Saadet Partisi Meclis'te ortak grup kurdu". Deutsche Welle.
  12. ^ "Karamollaoğlu ve Davutoğlu Meclis kulisinde vekillerle bir araya geldi". Milli Gazete (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  13. ^ "Saadet Partisi Genel Başkanı Karamollaoğlu: Kaşıkçı'nın ölümünü nasıl izah edecekler". Anadolu Agency (in Turkish). 2018-10-20.
  14. ^ "Saadet Partisi Genel Başkanı Karamollaoğlu: Trump'ın dengesiz gidişatı Amerika için tehlike". Anadolu Agency (in Turkish). 2020-01-10.
  15. ^ "Temel Karamollaoğlu'na göre Kasım Süleymani şehit oldu". Ensonhaber (in Turkish). 2020-01-04.
  16. ^ "حزب السعادة التركي". Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 2023-02-17.
  17. ^ "Cübbeli'den Saadet Partisi ile Kılıçdaroğlu arasında İran bağlantısı". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 2023-03-13.
  18. ^ "Eski Saadet Partisi Genel Başkanı Kamalak: Esad'la görüştük diye bize tepki gösterenler ABD'nin ağzıyla konuşuyordu". Independent Türkçe (in Turkish). 2023-01-11.
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