 will not participate in a preliminary intraparty election that will determine the party’s presidential candidate, finding such an election “too early” now, the Anka news agency reported.){kind=link}
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) will not participate in a preliminary intraparty election that will determine the party’s presidential candidate, finding such an election “too early” now, the Anka news agency reported.
CHP leader Özgür Özel, İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and Yavaş gathered for a meeting in Ankara on Sunday evening to discuss the party’s strategy for the next general election slated for 2028 as well as the possibility of a preliminary election to select the party’s candidate.
Yavaş told Özel and İmamoğlu that he is not opposed to a preliminary election but thinks it is premature at this stage, adding that the outcome of such an election should not be the only criterion to select the CHP presidential candidate. He said other alternatives such as the results of opinion polls should also be taken into consideration
Yavaş also thinks such an election could lead to division among the party’s members, the signs of which he said have already begun to emerge.
According to the mayor, the CHP should prioritize addressing the country’s economic problems and instilling hope in the public that it can resolve their financial issues rather than spending time on an election at this point in time.
In the wake of growing judicial pressure on the party, which saw the launch of investigations, arrests and the removal of some CHP mayors from office on what many say were politically motivated charges, Özel announced last month his party’s intention to hold a preliminary election among its more than 1.5 million members to determine its presidential candidate for the next general election.
“We will determine [the presidential candidate] together with 1.6 million brave hearts who are registered members of Atatürk’s party,” Özel said at a party meeting in late January, referring to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the CHP and modern Turkey.
In their initial comments, İmamoğlu supported Özel’s decision, saying that holding an election will allow the party to democratically determine its candidate. In contrast, Yavaş expressed his disagreement, arguing, “It is too early to decide on a candidate. The election date is unclear, and by then the circumstances in Turkey may have changed significantly.”
Both mayors are currently serving their second terms in office and are often regarded as among the most likely candidates from the CHP for the next presidential election.
İmamoğlu ended the yearslong Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule in İstanbul when he defeated the AKP’s mayoral candidate twice in local elections in 2019. He won a rerun election by a larger margin than in the first election, which was canceled due to supposed irregularities.
He was re-elected İstanbul mayor in the March 2024 local elections, again leaving the AKP candidate in the dust.
Yavaş also ended the years-long AKP rule in Ankara when he was first elected in 2019.
Since İmamoğlu faces several investigations and had already been sentenced to more than two years in prison and barred from politics in December 2022 for allegedly insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK), it is not yet known whether he will be legally eligible when election day arrives. The mayor has appealed his sentence, which is still pending.
There are claims that Erdoğan wants to sideline İmamoğlu — the mostly likely candidate to challenge him if he tries to seek another term as president — with operations in CHP municipalities.