CHP faces difficulty with primary election ahead of Nov. 1


The Republican People's Party (CHP) party assembly on Sunday convened to discuss ways to prevent a primary election before the Nov. 1 election after political parties failed to establish a coalition government. According to CHP regulations, a primary election decides the deputy candidate list, but the party is having trouble designating candidates in such a short period of time, as the High Electoral Board (YSK) scheduled a primary election for Sept.8.

For the June 7 election, the CHP chose 364 deputy candidates out of 550 via primary election and 82 deputies managed to gain a seat in Parliament. Only a couple of months later, another primary election is on the party agenda and CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu reportedly asked legal experts on the CHP staff to find a formula so that 82 deputies do not face another primary election in the upcoming days. The CHP staff plans to overcome the "primary election chaos" with an article to be added to the regulation concerning deputy determination. But the CHP Party Assembly's decision to make some changes to the regulation is insufficient, as the Supreme Court of Appeals, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the YSK must approve the change.