Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the United Nations under-secretary-general for peace operations, will visit Italy and Türkiye from May 4 to 7 for a series of meetings focused on international peacekeeping efforts, a U.N. official said Friday.

Deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that Lacroix will begin his trip in Rome, where he is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with Italian government officials on May 4-5, “to discuss peacekeeping-related issues.”

Following his meetings in Rome, Lacroix will travel to Brindisi, Italy, to participate in a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Standing Police Capacity (SPC).

The SPC is a rapidly deployable police capability of the U.N., designed to strengthen the early policing response in peace operations and other mission settings.

Lacroix will conclude his trip in Türkiye’s capital, Ankara, on May 7, where he is set to meet Turkish officials, Haq said.

He will “discuss Türkiye’s support to United Nations peacekeeping, including as a police contributing country,” he added.

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The elections have been a two-handed game in the past two decades, thanks to the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) incomparable success. Its main rival, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), fights for political survival amid internal friction and mounting allegations of corruption. Smaller parties continue to calculate the risks of aligning with it in the next election and going alone or through a separate alliance against the AK Party and its beloved leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Erdoğan has been a game-changer in Türkiye’s democratic history and has been at the helm of Türkiye’s longest since the founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as prime minister and president. After more than two decades in power, his AK Party is still ahead according to some opinion polls. In others, the party has a narrow gap with the CHP, while neither of the parties’ rivals comes close. For instance, an April survey by Optimar shows the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) scored 9.6% after the CHP, while another poll from March by Genar indicates the DEM Party can secure 8.9% of the vote after the AK Party and the CHP.

According to the official figures, there are 188 political parties in Türkiye. Most remain functional in name only, while several among them have less than 100 members, and maybe even fewer voters. The abundance of parties is a sign of the democratic wealth of the country, which has gone through three coups and more attempts by the military to interfere in politics. It is also a blessing for bigger, older parties, which usually rely on voter behavior to side with the winning side in the elections, though their loyalty might lie elsewhere at other times.

Some are “relics” not in the true sense of the word, but rather, due to the waning popularity of political views they defended. Those relics also include spiritual successors of once-popular parties. The newcomers referred to in the title, meanwhile, are mostly founded by dissidents of bigger parties, though some among them are truly new to politics, seeking to garner votes from those dissatisfied with the course their old parties took, namely the AK Party, the CHP and the AK Party’s ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Here are likely winners and losers of the next election scheduled to be held in 2028, although AK Party signaled that it may be rescheduled to the fall of 2027. Wins and losses, however, can be limited to the parliamentary seats as the AK Party and the CHP will likely dominate the polls again, based on recent surveys.

Key Party

The “A Party,” as it formally refers to itself, was founded in 2024 by Yavuz Ağıralioğlu, a 54-year-old former lawmaker who made his foray into politics in the Great Unity Party (BBP) before switching to the Good Party (IP) in 2018, only to resign in 2023. The party has set out to be a “key” to what it called “a deadlock in the system,” according to its manifesto, a reference apparently to the unending race between the AK Party and CHP. This was affirmed by Ağıralioğlu in a recent interview. He also claimed that the party has become popular among voters of the AK Party, MHP and IP, and to a degree, the CHP. With former AK Party and IP members among its founders and executive board, the A Party inevitably set its politics strictly to the right and its proposed policies, such as immediate deportation of all migrants and Syrian refugees, draw comparisons to fellow underdogs in the political scene.

Soon after its foundation, the party joined the growing list of political pundits’ “third-way parties” in the face of the AK Party and the CHP domination. In the ideological sense, it does not offer an all-embracing approach, but it managed to make it to the opinion polls, scoring slightly above 1% in Optimar’s survey. Areda-Survey’s poll put it above 4%. The party is not intent on being a part of future alliance against or with the AK Party, but as a quote attributed to late veteran politician Süleyman Demirel says, “Even 24 hours is a long time in politics,” and this stand may change in an instant when the election season begins.

New Welfare Party

Often leading or trailing behind the A Party in opinion polls, the YRP proved its potential in the 2024 municipal elections by securing more than 6% of the vote. Founded in 2018 by Fatih Erbakan, son of former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, it follows the path of the late politician, specifically “National View” ideology, something also shared by the Felicity Party (SP). The YRP allied with the People’s Alliance of the AK Party and MHP in 2023 before parting ways after the elections.

Younger Erbakan seeks to build upon the legacy of his father, who managed to rally disenfranchised conservative voters stuck in center-right parties for decades. Erbakan’s “National View,” which also sought to attract voters with wildly different world views, especially through anti-imperialist elements of the ideology, made the now-defunct Welfare Party (RP) a rising star in the politics of the 1990s. The RP is where President Erdoğan honed his political and oratory skills, and the AK Party has managed to attract some of its former supporters when the party was closed and its reincarnation, the Virtue Party (FP), was split.

The YRP did not veer much from the RP in its policies and mainly targeted voters who were adherents of the National View and disillusioned with the AK Party’s changing ways, specifically the widening political spectrum of the party. A rise in the polls indicates that this strategy may work. Forty-seven-year-old Erbakan is among the youngest of the leaders of prominent parties, but age has rarely been a determining factor in the choices of voters in multiparty elections since 1950.

The party recently tried to lure voters critical of the government’s policies toward Israel, adopting a rhetoric that the AK Party was not doing much to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its power in the international community. It is unclear how it may bring more votes to the party, where the economic challenges are expected to be a more significant factor in the choices of the voters in the next election.

The YRP does not favor another bid in the People’s Alliance, but it is open to aligning with the SP in the next election. Though Erbakan is confident about going solo, he also signaled openness to allying with other parties as well, including the Democracy and Progress (DEVA) and the Future Party (GP), which were founded by former members of the AK Party.

DEVA and GP

Although they are separate entities under Turkish laws, DEVA and GP are almost one in their policies and voter base. This eventually led to an alliance in the parliament under the New Path banner, together with the SP.

The DEVA was founded in 2020 by Former Minister Ali Babacan, once a rising young politician in the AK Party. He apparently followed the example of former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who established SP one year before. In the 2023 elections, both parties relied on the main opposition to secure parliamentary seats, while they had no dream of having their own candidates against Erdoğan and his rival, CHP’s Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Babacan and Davutoğlu succeeded in convincing former AK Party supporters, including former ministers and those who served on the AK Party boards. Yet, this has not been enough to pass the electoral threshold.

Like the parties above, they can be lumped with right-wing or center-right parties, and their policies do not differ much from the AK Party’s policies in the early 2000s. Indeed, they have more in common with the AK Party than the six-party bloc they supported against Erdoğan in 2023. Their alliance with the opposition will likely continue in the next election, though they may prefer siding with the FP and the YRP instead of the CHP. Defeat of the CHP’s candidate Kılıçdaroğlu in the 2023 elections cost the main opposition party’s chair his seat but also revealed seething anger among CHP supporters against DEVA and FP lawmakers who won seats with CHP loyalists’ votes. The FP and DEVA were accused of being freeloaders who run under the CHP banner in the legislative elections in exchange for voicing their support for Kılıçdaroğlu’s candidacy. This mounting criticism effectively shut the door to another alliance, though both parties still appear to be on good terms with the CHP administration after Kılıçdaroğlu was replaced with Özgür Özel following his devastating electoral loss.

Good Party

Once hailed as the primary alternative to the MHP, IP now floats somewhere between a hub for nationalists who fell out with the MHP due to its proliferating alliance with the AK Party and a stopover or last destination for CHP voters believing that the party is too left-wing for their taste. The IP’s sole ideological compass adhering to the right-wing politics of yesteryear may bring in votes from the elderly voters, unlike the Victory Party (ZP), which appears to lure much younger voters despite a similar policy with the IP.

The party’s membership and poll numbers show a downward trend, as voters who prioritize national stability increasingly return to the MHP or look toward newer nationalist experiments. The party now faces the risk of becoming a “relic” before it ever truly matures, as it struggles to convince the public that it offers anything more than a diluted version of the MHP’s robust nationalism, willing to take risks for sustaining the state.

Party Chair Müsavat Dervişoğlu underlined that they were not open to alliances, especially establishing a “nationalist league” and relying on what little support it has to run in the future elections independently. Any future alliance may further erode the support, as the 2023 elections demonstrated.

Victory Party

One of the youngest parties, the ZP was founded in 2021 by 65-year-old Ümit Özdağ. Özdağ’s easygoing public image and oratory skills helped the party to attract voters at a time of rising anti-migrant, anti-refugee sentiment in the public. A diehard nationalist, Özdağ tempted impressionable youth with his radical discourse, which is blamed for notorious riots against migrants and refugees.

Unfortunately for the ZP, this appears to be the only thing the party is known for. With the end of the Syrian civil war and refugees returning home, the party might lose voters attracted to Özdağ’s narrative of “sending all refugees home immediately by Victory Tourism buses.”

In the 2023 elections and subsequent polls leading to 2026, the ZP has functioned more as a disruptor than a viable governing partner. Its aggressive stance often alienates the very conservative-nationalist base it hopes to win from the MHP and the AK Party. Though it captures a small, reactionary segment of the youth vote, its lack of a holistic platform makes it an unlikely contender for any serious power-sharing in the future. Still, the ZP is among the most willing to form alliances and most recently, called on the CHP to establish one with them for an “Ataturkist alliance.”

DEM Party

The DEM Party does not quite fit in the categories of relic or newcomer, but developments may render it the former. The latest incarnation of a left-wing ideology claiming to fight for the rights of the Kurdish community, the DEM Party holds considerable sway among the electorate, often trailing behind the CHP and occasionally overtaking the MHP in the opinion polls. Its spiritual predecessors have also enjoyed the same success in the elections.

The party’s electorate is strictly confined to Kurds, especially those concentrated in southeastern Türkiye. Despite securing roughly 8% in recent surveys, the party remains hamstrung by its inability to distance itself from the shadow of terrorism, which remains a red line for the majority of the electorate. Like its predecessors, the DEM Party has been a staunch supporter of the PKK terrorist group. A surprise initiative by the government to end the PKK terrorism outside of solely military means limited the DEM Party’s ambitions to thrive on pro-PKK propaganda to attract voters. In the past two years, the DEM Party has found itself in unexpected places: a messenger between PKK jailed ringleader Abdullah Öcalan and the general public, a guest at the Presidential Complex and in the offices of MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, who publicly caught them off guard when he extended an olive branch to the party he once openly despised through well-known remarks in the past.

That the DEM Party and the CHP flirted with the idea of an alliance in the past elections and a so-called “urban compromise,” a not-so-hidden alliance for the DEM Party to support the CHP in big western cities where it has a slim chance of winning, is attributed to the main opposition’s growing success. Yet, with the terror-free Türkiye initiative launched by Bahçeli, the DEM Party has aligned more with the People’s Alliance, at least for the sake of the initiative. The DEM Party’s strict opposition and scathing rhetoric did not change much, though. The CHP or the DEM Party itself may try another shot at an alliance, hidden or obvious. But the CHP will have to risk losing voters who view the terror-free Türkiye initiative as a concession to the PKK.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday pledged that Türkiye would continue to safeguard workers’ rights, saying his government would not allow laborers to be disadvantaged under any circumstances.

“We will never allow the rights of our workers, who earn their living through their labor and create added value for their country and nation, to be violated. Our vision is clear,” Erdoğan said during a May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day reception at the Presidential Complex.

The president hosted representatives of workers, civil servants and employers, marking the annual observance with a message focused on unity, social justice and economic development.

“I am a brother who started life with the title of worker,” Erdoğan said, adding that he considers May Day a personal holiday. “You know best the importance that both I and our government attach to labor and to labor receiving its rightful reward.”

Highlighting reforms implemented during more than two decades in power, Erdoğan said his administration had expanded trade union rights, removed barriers to organization and strengthened collective bargaining mechanisms.

“We have increased the bargaining power of our employees. We have implemented historic regulations in occupational health and safety,” he said. “We have granted our public employees the right to collective bargaining and strengthened the rights of women, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in working life.”

Erdoğan emphasized that these steps were taken through consultation with labor representatives, unions and professional organizations.

“We walked together with our unions, confederations and professional organizations. We see our unions as our companions on this journey,” he said.

Referring to a recent dispute involving unpaid wages for miners, Erdoğan said authorities had intervened to resolve the issue, reiterating the government’s commitment to workers.

“We will never take any step against the worker, the laborer, the employee,” he said. “It is your sweat that truly makes this country a homeland.”

Erdoğan said Türkiye’s long-term goal is to build a labor system that prioritizes people and strengthens social justice.

“We desire a working life that puts people at the center, glorifies labor and strengthens social justice,” he said. “Together, in unity and solidarity, we will continue to develop and grow our country.”

Union and business leaders attending the reception also stressed dialogue and cooperation. Ergün Atalay, head of the Türk-İş confederation, said May Day events would be held across the country, while Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, president of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges, highlighted the importance of cooperation among different sectors.

Labor representatives pointed to ongoing efforts to address challenges through dialogue, while business leaders emphasized the interdependence of workers, employers and the state.

Unions in Taksim

Separately, unions marked May Day in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, where members gathered to lay wreaths at the Republic Monument.

The Revolutionary Workers’ Unions Confederation (DİSK) held a ceremony and press statement, with its chair Arzu Çerkezoğlu describing May Day as a symbol of unity and solidarity.

“Today is a day of unity, struggle and solidarity for workers across Türkiye and the world,” she said, highlighting the symbolic importance of Taksim Square for labor movements.

Separately, members of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (HAK-İŞ) also gathered in Taksim, where they laid a wreath and issued statements marking the occasion.

Led by Istanbul provincial head Mustafa Iluk, the group commemorated those who lost their lives during the events of May 1, 1977, visiting Kazancı Yokuşu and placing carnations in their memory before returning to the square.

Iluk said unions were marking the day not only in Istanbul but across all 81 provinces, underscoring nationwide participation in May Day events.

May 1 is widely observed in Türkiye as a day recognizing workers’ contributions and promoting solidarity.

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Turkish activists detained during an Israeli interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla are expected to return to Istanbul on Friday, organizers said.

According to a statement by the Global Sumud Flotilla, around 20 Turkish participants are due to arrive at Istanbul Airport between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. local time after being transferred to Greece.

“Following the attack on the flotilla, 175 activists were taken to the Greek island of Crete for repatriation,” the group said, adding that Turkish citizens were among those being returned.

The flotilla, part of a broader international effort to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, included 345 participants from 39 countries, according to organizers. The mission initially departed from Barcelona on April 12, with additional participants joining from Sicily before setting sail again on April 26.

On Thursday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said 175 activists had been detained after more than 20 vessels were seized in international waters while en route to the Gaza Strip.

Organizers on Friday called on governments to pressure Israel to release the two activists remaining in custody.

The mission marks the second initiative by the Global Sumud Flotilla, following a previous attempt in September 2025 that ended with an Israeli interception in international waters and the detention of hundreds of international activists.

In October 2023, Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and destroyed about 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at around $70 billion.

Israel has imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving about 1.5 million Palestinians out of roughly 2.4 million homeless after their homes were destroyed during the war.

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A group of activists detained after an Israeli military interception of the Gaza-bound Sumud aid flotilla in international waters arrived in Istanbul late Friday aboard a special flight, Turkish authorities said.

The plane, operated by Turkish Airlines, carried 59 people, including 18 Turkish nationals, from the Greek island of Crete to Istanbul Airport, where it landed at 9:45 p.m. local time.

The activists, who were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, were welcomed by relatives and officials at the airport’s VIP terminal. They are expected to undergo medical examinations at the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute as part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into Israel’s crimes.

The flotilla had set sail in April from Barcelona with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade on Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid. After additional participants joined in Sicily, the group resumed its journey on April 26.

According to flotilla organizers, Israeli forces intercepted the vessels late on April 29 in international waters off the coast of Crete, damaging boats and detaining activists. The group said the fleet was targeted about 600 nautical miles from Gaza, just outside Greek territorial waters.

Organizers said the flotilla included 345 participants from 39 countries, including Turkish citizens.

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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call with Greek Foreign Minister Yorgo Gerapetritis on Thursday to discuss Israel’s attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, Turkish diplomatic sources said.

Fidan and Gerapetritis spoke by phone earlier in the day, focusing on the reported Israeli attack targeting the Global Sumud Flotilla, a Gaza-bound aid mission, according to sources from Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry.

The two ministers exchanged views on the developments and their regional implications, particularly in light of rising tensions linked to Gaza.

No further details were immediately provided regarding the content of the discussions or any potential follow-up steps.

The call comes amid growing international reactions to the incident, which has drawn criticism and renewed attention to humanitarian access to Gaza.

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