CHP’s new chief sets shadow cabinet

ANKARA

Özgür Özel, the newly elected chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has announced the members of the party’s executive brass, which includes a 17-member shadow cabinet to closely follow the government.

The CHP’s top executive body, the Party Assembly, was gathered on Nov. 11 for the first time after the election of Özel as the chairman of the party convention.

“Our first test on our way to come to the government will be the local elections,” he told reporters after the meeting. He said Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş and Aydın Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu will run for another term. Türkiye will hold municipal elections on March 31, 2024.

He later announced the 24-member Central Executive Council (MYK). Selin Sayek Böke will serve as the secretary general of the CHP while Deniz Yücel will serve as the party spokesman. Seventeen members of the MYK will serve as the shadow cabinet of the main opposition party.

Gökçe Gökçen will serve as shadow justice minister, Aylin Nazlıaka as family minister, İlhan Uzgel as foreign minister, Deniz Yavuzyılmaz as energy minister, Murat Bakan as interior minister, Suat Özçağdaş as education minister, Yalçın Karatepe as treasury minister. The members of the shadow cabinet will closely follow the works of the government and report them to the MYK regularly.

In the meantime, the MYK has decided to postpone the party’s scheduled convention to change some of the articles of the internal regulations of the party to the end of December.