CHP's Özel consults former leaders ahead of congress

ISTANBUL

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel met with former chairs Altan Öymen, Hikmet Çetin and Murat Karayalçın in Istanbul on Aug. 26 to seek their views ahead of a congress set to amend the party's bylaws.

CHP's Istanbul leader Özgür Çelik also attended the meeting.

Later that day, Özel participated in an event with the same former leaders and informed reporters of his plan to meet with Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, his predecessor, in the capital Ankara soon.

“We are extremely happy with the unity and solidarity in our party and the guidance of our esteemed party leaders," Özel told reporters.

The congress is set to commence symbolically on Sept. 4 in the central city of Sivas, commemorating the 105th anniversary of a 1919 congress that sought to unify delegates from the Ottoman Empire during the War of Independence.

Official proceedings will begin in Ankara on Sept. 6 and continue until Sept. 9.

The CHP leader also mentioned at an event on Aug. 27 that the party had been receiving input from nongovernmental organizations and the academic community since April 10 to finalize the new party charter.

“For a text to be good, it needs to be conducted with common sense,” he said.

The party was to deliberate later that day on whether to choose candidates for parliamentary and local elections through primary elections, sources have previously told daily Hürriyet.

A commission reviewing potential amendments to the party's bylaws was scheduled to address this issue in its second meeting on Aug. 27.

In its first meeting, the commission considered implementing a two- or three-term limit for deputies and mayors, with some members proposing the extension of this limit to party leaders as well.