İYİ Party names Buğra Kavuncu as Istanbul mayoral candidate

ANKARA

İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener has declared that her party's vice-chair responsible for organization, Buğra Kavuncu, will be the mayoral candidate for Istanbul in the upcoming local elections on March 31.

The announcement, made during a parliamentary meeting on Jan. 24, follows the party's decision to run its own candidates in each constituency, departing from a previous strategy of supporting the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in key battlegrounds.

The fallout from İYİ Party's decision to go solo has been noticeable, with a surge of resignations and dismissals among lawmakers and key figures within the administration.

Kavuncu, the party's Istanbul deputy, is set to face competition from Ekrem İmamoğlu, the incumbent mayor and the candidate for the CHP, and former minister Murat Kurum, the joint candidate of the Justice and Development Party (AKP)-led ruling alliance. The participation of the People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), another major player, remains uncertain.

Later in a separate meeting at the party headquarters, Akşener revealed her party's candidate for the capital Ankara as businessman Cengiz Topel Yıldırım.

A former chief advisor to ex-CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the former president of Ankaragücü football club, Yıldırım will contend with CHP's incumbent mayor Mansur Yavaş and AKP's candidate Turgut Altınok.

Akşener's further announcements included Turhan Çömez as the party's candidate for Balıkesir and Fatih Koca, a member of the party's general administrative board, for the capital's Sincan district.