Welfare Party

The Welfare Party (Refah Partisi) in Turkey was founded by Ahmed Tekdal in Ankara in 1983. They participated in mayoral elections at that time and they won in three cities- Konya, Sanliurfa, and Van. Their vote percentage was approximately 5%. Their popular vote increased over the years until they became the largest party under Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan in 1996.