CHP's Özel meets with newly elected İYİ Party leader

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel has paid a congratulatory visit to Müsavat Dervişoğlu, the newly elected leader of the İYİ (Good) Party.

The meeting on May 16, characterized as comprehensive by Dervişoğlu in a joint statement, delved into a spectrum of Türkiye's issues.

"I believe that sincere dialogue between political parties will contribute greatly to the solution of our country's problems," Dervişoğlu remarked.

The leaders' exchange comes against the backdrop of divergent electoral strategies. The İYİ Party, which refrained from renewing its partnership with the CHP in the March elections, experienced a significant decline in its vote share, plummeting from 7.3 percent to 3.77 percent.

An extraordinary congress following the polls led to the leadership transition, with former head Meral Akşener opting out of reelection.

Despite electoral discrepancies, both party leaders expressed optimism regarding future relations.

"We will continue our journey of serving our country with CHP, as with other political parties," stated Dervişoğlu.

Özel echoed this sentiment, noting the closeness between party members.

"We do not need a normalization process with the İYİ Party. From now on, we will continue our relations at the best level as the two political parties represented in the parliament," Özel remarked.

"We know that a strong opposition will lead Türkiye to brighter futures much faster, and we are in agreement on this."

Meanwhile, the İYİ Party witnessed another resignation as MP Bilal Bilici stepped down, reducing the party's parliamentary representation to 37 members. His exit comes amid a wave of departures following the party's decision to contest the March 31 elections independently and subsequent setback.