Türkiye’s main opposition New Party (YP) will hold primary elections on Nov. 8, the first since its founding in July, with its founder, Özgür Özel, expected to be the unchallenged candidate.
The vote will be another test of Özel’s pledge to promote “direct democracy” following earlier intraparty elections. Those who register as YP members by Nov. 5 will be eligible to vote in the primaries.
The primaries are part of the party’s convention process, launched in August, which saw ordinary members vote for district and provincial branch chairs in the first stage, followed by delegates elected by members voting to choose the chairs in the second stage.
The Nov. 8 vote will be followed by the party’s first ordinary congress, scheduled for Nov. 14-15.
The party’s deputy chair and spokesperson, Zeynel Emre, told journalists on Wednesday that the November convention would be held at a sports hall in the capital. “Under New Party rule, we will work for the democratization of the Political Parties Law,” he said at a news conference.
Özel founded YP in July after being ousted from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) over allegations of vote-buying in a 2023 election in which he was elected to the CHP’s top post.
YP is confident of winning the next presidential election, having reduced the CHP to a shadow of its former self by attracting 91 lawmakers from Türkiye’s oldest party. Its presidential candidate, Ekrem Imamoğlu, however, remains jailed on corruption charges.
