Turkey questions if top figure's resignation to incite other AKP MPs

Sener, one of the four founding members of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), is set to form a new political party, as he announced the "New Political Movement" with ads appearing on local daily newspapers, just after his resignation from the ruling AKP.

According to press reports, Former Deputy Prime Minister Sener is confident that his party will have enough seats to form a parliamentary group, which requires 20 members. If this turns out to be the case, AKP’s parliamentary majority could be threatened in the event of a ban on 41 MPs as demanded by Chief Prosecutor.  Â

Sener resigned on Friday under pressure from colleagues after saying he planned to help form a new group as the party faces a closure case. He is the first leading AKP member to resign from the group since it was established in 2001.

Turkey has been locked in a political turmoil as everybody waits for the Constituional Court's ruling on the AKP closure case, which is expected in early August. The ruling AKP has been accused of being "the focal point of anti-secular activities."

He is expected to form a centrist party, which could potentially become an important player if the AKP is banned, as he has long been regarded as a moderate and had been mentioned as an acceptable presidential candidate by the AKP's secularist opponents before Abdullah Gul was elected for the post last year.

Former deputy prime minister, who served in Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's cabinet between 2002 and 2007, did not compete in last year's elections but retained his post in the party's central executive board.

The broader question is if Sener’s new political movement will be powerful enough to cut into AKP’s massive lead. His moderate image might appeal to electoral bases of both AKP and main opposition CHP, stealing votes from both parties and leading to a more divided political landscape, acoording to the analysts.

Yet, Turkey’s political history suggests that defections from main political parties usually fail to perform strongly, which obviously does not bode well for Sener’s prospects, they add.

The political parties should be formed to meet social needs and should have foundation in society in order to be successful, Hurriyet daily columnist Mehmet Yilmaz wrote on Saturday, adding he has seen no signs of such characteristics in Sener's movement.

Sener will make his first trip Saturday to the Central province of Konya, stronghold of conservatives in Turkey, where will attend Saturday a conference on recent economic developments held by the province's electricians chamber.