1911–1913 The Freedom and Accord Party declared itself a party on 21 November 1911, and immediately attracted 70 deputies to its ranks. The rigged election caused uprisings in many provinces, until pro-İtilafist officers known as the
Savior Officers issued a memorandum to the pro-CUP Grand Vizier
Mehmed Said Pasha, who was forced to resign.
Ahmed Muhtar Pasha's suprapartisan Great Cabinet followed, which was supported by the Savior Officers and Freedom and Accord. Catastrophe in the
First Balkan War lead to the collapse of this government, and
Kâmil Pasha, who was an ardent anti-İttihadist, returned to the premiership with the hope to sign a more favorable
peace settlement in London to end the war, and also to ban the CUP. At a party congress held from 2–9 June 1912,
Deli Fuad Pasha was elected as the party president, though he left the party by 1 January 1913. During the Balkan War, the party came under the influence of
Miralay Sadık and
Gümülcineli İsmail Hakkı, who planned to overthrow the Kâmil Pasha government in
a putsch on 25 January 1913. However the CUP undertook
a coup d'état two days before they could on 23 January 1913, and
İsmail Enver forced Kâmil Pasha to resign the premiership at gun point. The purges following the coup targeted anti-İttihadist opposition, most of whom were arrested or fled abroad.
Şerif Pasha, was appointed as the chairman of party organisation abroad, and Sadık as the vice chairman, but Şerif Pasha also resigned shortly thereafter. At the end of March a plot was discovered by an associate of Prince Sabahaddin, forcing Sabahaddin and Dr. Nihat Reşat (Belger) to flee abroad. The CUP took advantage of Grand Vizier
Mahmut Şevket Pasha's assassination on 11 June 1913 to crush all opposition completely. Most İtilafists were sentenced to death in absentia. 322 people (601 people according to
Burhan Felek), who were known anti-İttihadists were exiled to
Sinop. For 5 years the party was practically defunct, though party leaders established relations with Britain and denounced the İttihadist dictatorship. It was re-established in the aftermath of the
World War I.
1918–1920 With the Ottoman Empire losing on all fronts in by the end of WWI,
Talat Pasha's government fell. A general amnesty was declared and exiles from Sinop and abroad began to return to Constantinople. On 17 November 1918,
Mustafa Sabri Efendi a former deputy of
Tokat, declared the reorganisation of the Freedom and Accord Party. In the following days, news emerged that Freedom and Accord branches were opened in various parts of the country. In a meeting held on 10 January 1919, the Freedom and Accord Party was officially re-established. The new board of directors consisted mostly of elderly and retired state officials close to the palace. Former chairman
Damat Ferid Pasha did not join the party. Mustafa Sabri,
Ali Kemal,
Rıza Tevfik, and
Refik Halit (Karay), former and active members of the party, took part in its management. The most important spokespersons of the party in the press were Ali Kemal and
Refi Cevat (Ulunay). The party was supported by the Sultan,
Mehmed VI. Some members of the party advocated for the Ottoman Empire to become a
League of Nations Mandate, an attitude that was also initially considered by a few ex-İttihadist. However the leadership were united in having close relations with Britain, and many joined the Friends of England Association. The party fiercely opposed the
Turkish nationalist movement for being unreconstructed İttihadist, which they blamed for all problems the Ottoman Empire faced post-war. When this attack didn't work their organs accused them of being
Bolsheviks. While Ottoman politicians were anticipating the call of a new election after the dissolution of
parliament, Freedom and Accord reopened its branches in Istanbul in other provinces, though it found no support in Anatolia. 8 May 1919, Miralay Sadık returned to Istanbul from Egypt, and once again took over the leadership of the party. The first cabinet of Damat Ferid Pasha, which was established on 3 March 1919, was generally regarded as the "Government of Freedom and Accord". In reality, the party had no real share in power, except by contributing one or two members to the government. According to
Refik Halit (Karay), Ferid Pasha "used the party like a winter cardigan." On 25 June, Freedom and Accord's central committee declared that there was no relationship between the government and the party, and announced any Accordist minister still in cabinet had to choose between losing their job or their party affiliation. On 21 July, the central committee declared the government of Damat Ferid illegitimate and demanded his immediate resignation. The
Ministry of the Interior issued a warning that it would not tolerate partisan intervention in the government. Mustafa Sabri and Miralay Sadık disagreed with carrying out the ultimatum, until Sabri attempted to establish a new party called the
National Conservative Party. In the last
Ottoman parliamentary elections held in November 1919, Freedom and Accord and the groups that split from it boycotted the election. The election resulted in a decisive victory of the pro-
Association for the Defense of National Rights of Anatolia and Rumelia party known as . When Sabri wasn't appointed
Sheikh-ul-Islam in the 4th Ferid Pasha government, Sadık took the opportunity to do a party takeover, purging him and his supporters. This led to the foundation of the
Moderate Freedom and Accord Party on 1 June 1920, temporarily lead by Rıza Tevfik. This party entered the 5th Ferid Pasha government, but was opposed by Sâdık Bey and his supporters in the original Freedom and Accord Party, who were now considered extremists. Divided and politically bankrupt, the Freedom and Accord Party could not exert any political power for the rest of the Ottoman Empire's history, and gradually lost its strength as the Turkish Nationalist Movement gained traction. Most members fled the Ottoman Empire after the
Great Offensive and were put on the
list of 150 personae non gratae. == Media ==