Mahmut Arıkan assessed the discussions on possible cooperation with the People’s Alliance on Halk TV. Emphasizing the importance of contacts between political parties, Arıkan said they were open to meeting requests from the ruling parties and that a meeting did not mean joining the alliance. Confirming with the word “Absolutely” that the Saadet Party had no agenda of joining the People’s Alliance, Arıkan stated that talks with the Yeniden Refah Party and DEVA Party were continuing “very positively.” He said the effort aimed to establish a new political line with the participation of different political actors. Arıkan said the presidential candidate to be announced would not be one of the names prominent in public opinion, and that principles would be prioritized until the election date was announced.
Why it matters
The statements show that establishing contact with the ruling parties does not automatically mean joining the People’s Alliance for the Saadet Party. This distinction indicates that the difference between political talks and an electoral alliance should be preserved when assessing the issue. The ongoing contacts with the Yeniden Refah Party and DEVA Party also reveal that the search is aimed not merely at positioning itself within existing alliances, but at creating a political line that brings different actors together. However, it remains unclear which common principles this line will be shaped around and how the choice of a candidate who is not prominent in public opinion will be determined. Prioritizing principles over the candidate until the election date is announced shows that the discussion will for now proceed along the lines of the program and political orientation.
Background
Arıkan is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we published a news article mentioning this name in the past 90 days; that article is dated September 5, 2026.