21.10.2026 14:12
Müsavat Dervişoğlu, the Chairman of the İYİ Party, called on Ankara MP Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba—who stated that he did not use the phrase "How happy is he who says I am a Turk" and who supports the Terror-Free Turkey process—to resign. After Dervişoğlu's statement that "There is no place for him among us," Fakıbaba said, "Since our chairman wants it this way, I will do it," and announced that he would resign today from both his party and his parliamentary seat.
İYİ Party General Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu reacted sharply to his party's Ankara MP Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba's remarks “How happy is the one who says 'I am a Turk'” and his statements regarding the Terror-Free Türkiye process, and called for his resignation. Following Dervişoğlu's call, Fakıbaba announced that he would resign from both his party and his parliamentary seat.
HARSH REACTION FROM DERVİŞOĞLU: THERE IS NO PLACE FOR HIM AMONG US
İYİ Party General Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu made a striking post on his social media account after Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba's statements to journalist İsmail Saymaz.
Calling for Fakıbaba to leave both the party and his parliamentary seat, Dervişoğlu used the following statements:
“There is no place among us for someone who cannot say 'How happy is the one who says I am a Turk.' As a requirement of political honor, I wish him to once again display the stance he took when resigning from the AK Party, which we also appreciated, and I expect his resignation from our party and from his parliamentary seat.”
FAKIBABA: I AM SENDING MY RESIGNATION PETITION IMMEDIATELY
Responding to Dervişoğlu's statement, Fakıbaba announced that he accepted the resignation call. Speaking to journalist İsmail Saymaz, Fakıbaba said, “Since our general chairman wanted it this way, I will do it. There is good in every matter.”
Fakıbaba explained his decision with these words: “Today I am immediately sending my resignation petition from both the party and my parliamentary seat.”
“I WAS NOT SPEAKING UP IN ORDER NOT TO HARM THE PARTY”
Fakıbaba, who stated that even during the period he joined the İYİ Party he thought differently from the party leadership on some issues, said that he especially experienced disagreements regarding the Terror-Free Türkiye process.
Fakıbaba used the following statements: “I sincerely thank Dervişoğlu for his efforts. When I joined the İYİ Party, I was also someone whose views differed. When the peace process came up, I expressed my opinion in the party, but I did not speak up in order not to cause harm.”
HE HAD SAID “I SUPPORT THE PEACE PROCESS”
The statements that caused the crisis came to the agenda after journalist İsmail Saymaz's meeting with Fakıbaba. Fakıbaba, who stated that he did not share the same view as some of the İYİ Party's policies, had explained his stance especially regarding the Terror-Free Türkiye process with these words: “I opposed within the party. I said yes in order not to disrupt the group. But that was not what was in my heart. I have been a liberal person since my youth. They cannot wash blood with blood; they wash it with water. When I joined the İYİ Party, I did not say 'How happy is the one who says I am a Turk.' I said 'I am a Turkish nationalist.' I believe that the Terror-Free Türkiye process will result positively. If it does not, the state will do what is necessary. I support the peace process.”
Fakıbaba had also stated that Türkiye needs a new constitution and announced that he would support the new constitutional arrangement coming to the Parliament.
HE HAD LEFT THE AK PARTY IN 2022
Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba was elected as a Şanlıurfa MP from the AK Party in the 2015 and 2018 general elections. Fakıbaba, who resigned from the AK Party in 2022 and joined the İYİ Party, entered the Turkish Grand National Assembly as an Ankara MP from the İYİ Party in the 2023 general elections.
WHO IS AHMET EŞREF FAKIBABA?
Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba was born on December 16, 1951, in the Birecik district of Şanlıurfa. A graduate of Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, Fakıbaba specialized in general surgery. Fakıbaba, who served as a physician and chief physician during his professional life, later entered politics.
Elected Mayor of Şanlıurfa from the AK Party in 2004, Fakıbaba was re-elected mayor as an independent candidate in the 2009 local elections. He entered the Turkish Grand National Assembly as a Şanlıurfa MP from the AK Party in the 2015 and 2018 general elections.
Fakıbaba, who served as Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock between 2017 and 2018, resigned from the AK Party in 2022 and joined the İYİ Party. Elected as an Ankara MP from the İYİ Party in the 2023 general elections, Fakıbaba took part in the Turkish Grand National Assembly's Health, Family, Labor and Social Affairs Committee. On October 21, 2026, following İYİ Party General Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu's resignation call, he announced that he would leave both his party and his parliamentary seat. Fakıbaba, who is married and a father of three children, speaks English well.