İYİ Party MP Karakaş Defects to AKP; Deletes Öcalan Post Made Just Five Days Earlier

İYİ Party Aydın Deputy Ömer Karakaş formally completed his switch to the AKP yesterday when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned a badge on him at the party's 25th founding anniversary program held at Başkent Millet Bahçesi in Ankara. Immediately after his resignation, Karakaş removed his İYİ Party deputy designation and cover photo from his social media profile.

A striking detail: a post previously pinned on Karakaş's account — containing the phrase 'baby-killing scoundrel' directed at Abdullah Öcalan — was also removed following the switch. Karakaş had made those remarks only five days earlier, during his address to the parliamentary General Assembly on August 10th: "You are trying to create a peace dove out of a baby-killing scoundrel."

In the August 10th 'framework law' vote, 563 deputies participated; the result was 467 in favor, 87 against, and 7 abstentions. While all AKP deputies voted 'yes', records show that Gaziantep Deputy Mehmet Mustafa Gübran — who joined AKP ranks alongside Karakaş — voted 'no' in that same ballot.

Karakaş's defection is being assessed as the İYİ Party's second internal rupture ahead of its upcoming congress; the party has not yet issued an official statement on the switch.