Özgür Özel’s Key List Revealed on Second Day of CHP Congress
CHP Chairman Özgür Özel has revealed his key list consisting of 70 individuals to form the staff team. The composition of the list, which includes MPs and members of the organization, has drawn attention.
The key list includes representatives from the youth and women’s branches, as well as individuals close to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. Notably, Özel has not included any names that have faced public criticism or are multi-term MPs.
The list includes 17 MPs such as Burhanettin Bulut, Ensar Aytekin, Özgür Ceylan, Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Ediz Ün, Hikmet Yalın Halıcı, Gökhan Zeybek, Özgür Karabat, Suat Özçağdaş, Deniz Yücel, Murat Bakan, Cumhur Uzun, Murat Çan, Ulaş Karasu, Gamze Taşçıer, İsmail Atakan Ünver, and Eylem Ertuğ Ertuğrul.
Journalist Ali Haydar Fırat, former Deputy Chairman Erdal Aksünger, former Women’s Branch President Fatma Köse, and Sevgi Kılıç, the first headscarved Party Assembly member of the CHP, are also included on the list.
Additionally, the list comprises 12 members of the Science, Culture Management Platform (BYKP), including Rear Admiral Yankı Bağcıoğlu, who previously served a prison sentence in the FETO conspiracy Military Espionage Case.
Furthermore, Özel’s list includes 9 individuals from the previous PM list, including Gökhan Zeybek, Pınar Uzun Okakın, Özgür Karabat, Sevgi Kılıç, Selin Sayek Böke, Tahsin Tarhan, Gamze Taşçıer, Ahmet Hakan Uyanık, and Sezgin Tanrıkulu.
The CHP Congress also announced Oğuz Kaan Salıcı’s key list for the Party Assembly. This list includes names such as Mehmet Tahtasız, Mahmut Tanal, Gaye Usluer, Melisa Yıldırım, and Ayten Gülsever.
Özgür Özel, the new party leader, met with the provincial leaders to discuss the key list. He stated that the list was prepared with the contributions and suggestions of the provincial heads and takes into account regional distribution, gender, and youth quotas.
The key list serves as a shortlist for the CHP PM election, allowing anyone to become a candidate. Once the applications are completed, the list is printed, and the voting process begins. During this process, delegates are presented with Özgür Özel’s key list, and voting for candidates from that list takes place.
Özel also cast his vote for the Party Assembly and the High Disciplinary Board. Speaking to reporters afterwards, he expressed his satisfaction with the CHP’s intra-party democracy, which he believes sets an example for all of Turkey.
Regarding President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks about him, Özel stated that Erdoğan’s stress and concerns reflect his understanding that each passing day will be more challenging for him and a source of morale for the CHP. Özel advised Erdoğan to continue worrying about the Republican People’s Party.
