The İstanbul leadership of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has been won by a candidate supported by the party’s internal opposition, according to official results.
Özgür Çelik received 342 votes, while Cemal Canpolat, backed by the CHP headquarters, received 310 votes. Çelik is supported by leadership candidate and MP Özgür Özel and İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who have been spearheading the “change” movement against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the party leader.
The “change” movement started after Kılıçdaroğlu’s unsuccessful bid for presidency in the May elections.
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Along with the provincial chair, the 196 delegates of the CHP in İstanbul were also elected yesterday. The İstanbul congress was deemed crucial for the balance of power within the party as the city has the largest number of delegates.
Tensions
The contentious congress saw tension and scuffles between the factions. At the beginning of the congress, the current provincial chair, Canan Kaftancıoğlu, was booed while speaking, and slogans in support of Kılıçdaroğlu, such as "Kılıçdaroğlu is the hope of the people," were chanted while İmamoğlu was speaking.
After verbal clashes and tension in the hall, both candidates delivered their final speeches.
Critiquing the debates about the candidates, Özgür Çelik said, "Our chair, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, is the chair of all of us. I find it wrong to turn our chair, who embraces all segments of society, into a subject of debate in this congress." Similarly, he also expressed his disapproval of discussing Ekrem İmamoğlu's name during the congress processes.
Canpolat, on the other hand, criticized the "change" movement within the party in his speech.
Following the speeches, a block list proposal, as requested by both candidates, was accepted by a majority vote, and the voting process was set up with 13 ballot boxes.
The congress for the party leadership will be held on November 4-5. (VK)
