New Party Chairperson Özgür Özel acknowledged that they were broke but insisted that they may exceed 40% in any election.
Özel on Monday night gave his first televised interview since he announced the formation of the party last Friday to Halk TV, a network which historically aligned with Republican People’s Party (CHP), before Özel’s predecessor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu took over in May.
“We left all the money in butlan,” Özel said, using the Turkish word for “absolute nullification” verdict by a court that paved the way for reinstatement of former CHP chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. “We have logistics needs, we need to pay the party’s staff. But we have no fundraising campaign. I advise all supporters not to fall for any fake campaigns. Follow our official social media accounts only to learn about any campaign,” he said. Devlet Bahçeli, leader of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has earlier called for a regulation for access for YP to CHP funds provided by the government’s treasury to all political parties, arguing that the party, founded by former CHP lawmakers, was entitled to aid. Özel said they don’t want any cash from CHP but supported any such regulation.
Özel, who carried CHP to a rare victory in the 2024 municipal elections, months after he was elected as its chair, still believes that New Party can go further. “If New Party can explain itself to the public better, if we can meet people’s expectations and if people continue their support, we can exceed 40% of the vote in the next election,” he said, referring to the 2028 general election. Özel claimed they were now in a stronger position than where they had left the CHP.
"The New Party is the first party in Turkish political history to be founded as the main opposition. It is not a splinter party formed by people leaving another party in search of something else. It is actually a party built around an understanding, and around resistance and struggle against the coup that was carried out,” he stated. Özel also claimed that they would grow stronger, adding that more than 200 mayors of the CHP would join them. "Such a wave is coming that we can't say, 'Stop.' There is an unprecedented level of desire and support in political history,” he confidently underlined. It is still unclear whether Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, who was once viewed as CHP’s future presidential candidate, would join YP, but Özel said it was “enough for them as long as any mayor does not support butlan.”
