Welfare Party

For the Indian political party, see Welfare Party of India.

Welfare Party
Refah Partisi
FoundersAli Türkmen
Ahmet Tekdal
Necmettin Erbakan
Founded19 July 1983
Banned16 January 1998
Preceded byNational Salvation Party
Succeeded byVirtue Party
HeadquartersAnkara, Turkey
Ideology
Political positionFar-right
ReligionSunni Islam
Colors
  •   Red (official)
  •   Hot pink (customary)
SloganJustice is our goal
A clock displaying the emblem of the Welfare Party. The party slogan translates as "Justice is our goal."

The Welfare Party (Turkish: Refah Partisi, RP) was an Islamist political party in Turkey. It was founded by Ali Türkmen, Ahmet Tekdal, and Necmettin Erbakan in Ankara in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties, National Order Party (MNP) and National Salvation Party (MSP), which were banned from politics. The RP participated in mayoral elections at that time and won in three cities Konya, Şanlıurfa, and Van. Their vote percentage was approximately 5%.

The Welfare Party participated in the 1991 elections in a triple alliance with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Reformist Democracy Party (IDP). They gained 16.9% of the vote. They won 62 deputies to parliament, but 19 deputies of MHP (with founding Democratic Movement Party on 25 December 1991 and joining the MÇP on 29 December 1991) and 3 of IDP left the Welfare Party after the election. Their popular vote increased over the years until they became the largest party under Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan in 1996. The coalition government of Erbakan was forced out of power by the Turkish military in 1997, due to being suspected of having an Islamist agenda.[1]

In 1998, the Welfare Party was banned from politics by the Constitutional Court of Turkey for violating the separation of religion and state.[2] The ban was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 13 February 2003. The ECtHR's decision was criticized by Human Rights Watch for lack of consistency, as the ECtHR had refused disbanding of other parties on several occasions, but the ECtHR defended its decision.[3][4]

Turkey's incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is a former member of the party.[5] After being banned from politics for a period, he left this Islamist group and founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Abdullah Gül, the former President of Turkey, was the deputy leader of the Welfare Party until its dissolution

  1. ^ Karadjis, Michael (19 October 1997). "Behind the Turkish Military's "Soft Coup"". Green Left Weekly. 294. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  2. ^ N. Bali, Rifat (2013). Antisemitism and Conspiracy Theories in Turkey. Libra. p. 185. ISBN 9786054326730.
  3. ^ Turkey: Party Case Shows Need for Reform – Ruling Party Narrowly Escapes Court Ban, Human Rights Watch, 31 July 2008
  4. ^ Moe, Christian (September 2003). "Refah Partisi (The Welfare Party) and Others v. Turkey". International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law. 6 (1). International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. ISSN 1556-5157. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  5. ^ "Islamist party sees Erdogan support eroding in Turkey election". Reuters. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2019.