Possible offshoot of the Erdoğan party: Dava group wants to run in the federal election

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Erdogan supporters celebrate his election victory in Berlin-Kreuzberg in May 2023: The Dava group says it has no contacts with the Turkish president's government

Photo: dts news agency / IMAGO

The controversial group “Democratic Alliance for Diversity and Awakening” (Dava), which is accused of being close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, also wants to run in next year’s federal election. “We first want to concentrate on the European elections and see to what extent we can mobilize our potential voters,” said Dava boss Teyfik Özcan to the Germany editorial network. »We then want to establish ourselves nationwide. We are currently assuming that we will stand in the federal election next year. Dava is currently still a political association. "But the long-term plan is to convert Dava into a party."

The plans to convert it into a party were criticized by the CDU and FDP. SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich said on Monday that we would first have to wait and see whether the party would become relevant in any way in Germany.

Chairman of the Turkish community in Germany believes Dava has no chance

“If I take all the positive letters as an indicator, then I firmly assume that we will enter the European Parliament,” Özcan told the RND. Dava focuses on voters who identify as minorities. In Germany alone there is a potential voter of five million people, not counting the native Germans.

The Dava chairman once again rejected allegations that the new group was the extended arm of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Germany. "We have no contact with the Erdoğan government or other foreign governments."

The chairman of the Turkish community in Germany believes the new Dava group has no chance. “I don’t see any reason to panic,” Gökay Sofuoglu told the RND. A party that is founded solely according to ethnic criteria and focuses only on ethnic issues only has a marginal function. Over time, she will end her political work again, said Sofuoglu. "In any case, I don't see which voters this party should get five percent of the votes from in the next federal election."