“Our esteemed elder Recai Kutan has passed away. We send condolences to our nation and community,” the statement read.

Kutan was a prominent figure in Turkish politics, first elected as a lawmaker from the eastern Malatya province in the 1977 elections under the National Salvation Party (MSP). Following the 1980 military coup, Kutan, along with other MSP leaders, was imprisoned for nearly 10 months. He was acquitted by the Military Court of Cassation and resumed his political career.

In 1983, Kutan became the deputy chair of the Welfare Party (RP), which had been founded by former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. From 1996 to 1997, Kutan served as the minister of energy and natural resources under Erbakan's administration.

After the RP was banned, Kutan was elected chair of the Virtue Party, which was subsequently closed by authorities in 2001. Later that year, Kutan co-founded the Felicity Party (SP) with Erbakan, leading it until 2008. The SP remains a significant political force in Türkiye's opposition today, currently headed by Temel Karamollaoğlu.

Karamollaoğlu, who announced in May that he would step down due to health issues, has yet to be replaced in an ordinary congress. (ILKHA)