Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi 27’nci Yasama Döneminde Milletvekillerinin Parti Değiştirmeleri
MPs’ Party Changes during the 27th Legislative Period of the Turkish Grand National Assembly

Summary/Abstract: Being important actors of political participation, members of parliament (MPs) are elected to represent the entire nation in parliament, either through political parties or independently. It is known that while continuing their representation and legislative activities in the parliament, some MPs changed their parties. Since the representation undertaken by MPs is on behalf of the entire nation, it may seem that MPs’ changing parties is a minor detail. However, when we look at Turkish political life, it is seen that party switching has significant effects, given that a group from the Republican People's Party (CHP) switched parties before the 2018 general elections, leading the Good Party (İyi Parti) to enter the elections. In this context, the aim of this study is to analyze the problematic of party switching by focusing on its justifications and consequences in the 27th Legislative Period. MPs’ reasons for changing their parties were investigated on the basis of their statements. Their explanations were subjected to content analysis. In order to decipher the reasons for the departure of MPs who did not hold an official press conference regarding their party changes, Sözcü, Sabah and Hürriyet, the national newspapers with the highest circulation, were scanned. It has been determined that MPs of the 27th Legislative Period left their parties for reasons such as ideological differences, anti-democratic practices, opposition to party policies, moving away from the founding objectives of the parties, expulsion, and the desire to do politics under the roof of new parties. As a result, it was revealed that the party switching of MPs led to the distribution of the number of seats in the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the emergence of new parties in the parliament.

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