Turkey: Istanbul lawmaker quits opposition IYI Party

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - A senior Turkish lawmaker on Thursday resigned from the opposition Good (IYI) Party.

"The IYI Party turned out to a satellite of the CHP," meaning the main opposition Republican People's Party, Umit Ozdag, a lawmaker from Istanbul, told reporters in parliament.

Ozdag claimed that the party has deviated from the principles of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.

The mentality of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) now “comes instead of these principles," claimed Ozdag.

After Ozdag's resignation, the IYI Party now holds 36 seats in the 600-seat parliament.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the July 15, 2016 defeated coup in Turkey that left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. The group is also accused of extensive infiltration of state institutions in an attempt to overthrow it.