İhsan Özkes, a former mufti who currently serves as a lawmaker from the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), resigned from his post on Tuesday, reducing the number of deputies representing the party to 131. Özkes submitted a petition to step down on Monday and announced his resignation on his Twitter account. Although there are no details of what caused his resignation, it has been speculated that Özkes quit due to pressure from other deputies who are Alevi. The CHP nominated predominantly Alevi candidates to run for Parliament in the June elections, most of whom were elected.