Democratic Progress Party

The Democratic Progress Party (Turkish: Demokratik Gelişim Partisi, abbreviated DGP) was a political party in Turkey which adhered to liberal conservatism. It was founded by Kütahya Member of Parliament İdris Bal on 4 November 2014. Bal had left the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) in November 2013 after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fell out with Gülen following the 2013-14 anti-government protests.

Democratic Progress Party Demokratik Gelişim Partisi
Abbreviation	DGP
Leader	Vacant
Founder	İdris Bal
Founded	November 4, 2014 (2014-11-04)[1]
Dissolved	March 31, 2015 (2015-03-31)
Split from	Justice and Development Party (AKP)
Headquarters	Ankara
Ideology	Liberal conservatism
Political position	Right wing
Colours	red
Parliament:	0 / 550
Politics of Turkey Political parties Elections

Bal highlighted that the party would tackle the democratic deficit within Turkish politics, claiming that the lack of democracy and the politicisation of the judiciary by the AKP were the two largest problems facing the country. Although he claimed that he hadn't met Gülen before forming the party, he said that he would be open to his, as well as everyone else's involvement in the party.[2] Amongst possibilities that other MPs who had resigned from the AKP might join the DGP, Bal remains the party's only sitting MP. 12 hours after the party's formation, co-founder Fevzi Bubilik resigned and criticised the party for not being democratic enough.[3]

On 31 March 2015, DGP's leader and only MP İdris Bal resigned and left the party. He accused the media, in particular media linked with Gülen movement, of subjecting his party to censorship.[4]