The Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) candidate list for the parliamentary elections on June 24 has been leaked, sparking a debate among incumbent deputies of the party on Sunday evening.
According to a T24 report on the leaked candidate list, almost 70 percent of 48 deputies who supported a critical statement titled “Democratic CHP” during the last party congress in April were not nominated by Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Among those deputies, only Selin Sayek Böke and Orhan Sarıbal, prominent critics of party politics, were named as candidates for parliament.
The party’s vice chairman, Erdal Aksünger, argued that the way the list was drawn up was anti-democratic since it was only up to Kılıçdaroğlu, according to the Özgürüz news website. The list will negatively affect the CHP’s election performance, Aksünger claimed.
Another group of deputies who are close to the CHP’s presidential candidate, Muharrem İnce, were not on the list.
“Don’t be concerned about these things. All nominees are our friends,” İnce said during a rally in Bartın province.
The leaked document proved right one day after, as Monday was the deadline for parties to submit their candidate lists.
CHP deputy Haluk Pekşen, also not on the list, claimed that those who opposed former President Abdullah Gül’s presidential candidacy in a joint nomination from the opposition parties were not nominated, the Diken news website reported.
Jailed Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Enis Berberoğlu, who has been in pretrial detention since June 14, 2017, was also nominated.
Former Justice and Development Party (AKP) member Abdüllatif Şener was among the candidates who will run as a member from Konya, a conservative stronghold.
Popular party members Barış Yarkadaş and Eren Erdem were also left out, which sparked a controversy on social media because they have been very active in journalists’ trials for the last couple of years.
