İnce, who formed what he called the “Homeland Movement” in mid-2020 and travelled across the country, announced his decision to formally part ways with the CHP at a press conference he held on Feb. 8 in Ankara.
“I will submit my resignation through e-devlet [online state registry system] right away. I will send a detailed explanation of my decision to the party headquarters out of respect for 42 years of my membership,” he said.
“We are introducing a third option for those who have been squeezed by the polarization created by the government and the opposition. It’s time to get rid of both this government and the opposition,” he said.
His objective is not to divide the opposition votes, but creating an option for the CHP voters who have long been involuntarily voting for the social democrats, İnce stressed. “Our objective is to get 50 percent +1 votes” required to be elected as the president, he said.
İnce said the works for the establishment of the party are underway and he will be able to hold his next press conference at the new headquarters but did not tell what the name of the party would be.
He also vowed that three CHP lawmakers who have recently resigned from the party will join his party when founded. “I can tell you that our party will have the largest parliamentary group after the İYİ [Good] Party,” he said, hinting there would be more defectors from the social democrat party.