CHP leader attends PES summit in Bucharest

BUCHAREST

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel has made his first international trip after the local elections to attend the leaders' summit of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in the Romanian capital Bucharest.

The conference of center-left European parties saw Özel's presence along with the party's general secretary, Selin Sayek Böke.

On the sidelines of the conference, Özel engaged in discussions with various figures such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Irish Labor Party leader Ivana Bacik, PES President Stefan Löfven and European Parliament's Socialists and Democrats group head Iratxe García Pérez.

The CHP leader shared a photo alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, expressing appreciation for the latter's intentions to recognize the Palestinian state before summer. "I repeat my call to all social democratic and socialist leaders to stand with Palestine," Özel wrote in his post.

The summit comes in the wake of the CHP's significant gains in the March 31 elections, marking the first time since 1977 that the party received the highest number of votes.

During the gathering, PES secretary-general Giacomo Fillibeck commended CHP's recent success, particularly highlighting the party's triumph in key battlegrounds such as Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

In the March 31 elections, the CHP secured around 37 percent of the votes, for the first time surpassing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which garnered around 35 percent.

The CHP's success extended across 35 out of the country's 81 provinces, including 14 metropolises. Notably, the main opposition party made considerable gains in constituencies traditionally run by the AKP, such as Bursa, Balıkesir, Manisa, Denizli, Uşak, Kütahya, Kırıkkale and Afyonkarahisar.