Two parties chaired by former prominent figures of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) are discussing merging, the head of one of them announced on Wednesday.

Ali Babacan, former economy and foreign minister who leads the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), told a pro-opposition TV station that they were in talks with the Future Party (GP) of former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. "It can be a merger or a united parliamentary bloc," Babacan told Halk TV. He said they were also exploring ways to include people from other parties as well to this new bloc. Neither the GP nor Davutoğlu have commented on Babacan’s remarks. Media outlets reported that the former prime minister asked the DEVA to nominate him for president in the 2028 elections in exchange for a merger.

Babacan stated that they were looking to unite center-right voters, adding that the DEVA always sought to attract conservative and disillusioned citizens who voted for the AK Party in the past.

Both parties made it to Parliament in the 2023 elections through nominating their members on the candidate lists of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). The DEVA secured 15 seats, while the GP won 10 seats under the CHP. In the March 31 municipal elections, the DEVA won one district mayor seat, while the GP won none.

The DEVA and the GP were part of six-party opposition bloc that challenged the lengthy rule of the AK Party in the 2023 elections. Then CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, nominated by the bloc, however, failed to win a runoff against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Since the AK Party secured its first election victory in 2002, it has had little challenge from the opposition fragmented into smaller parties. Its only genuine rival has long been the CHP, which nows enjoys an unprecedented success after wins in the latest municipal elections.