CHP chair announces Yavaş as Ankara mayoral candidate

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has officially declared that Mansur Yavaş will once again be the party's candidate for the mayoral position in the capital Ankara in the upcoming local polls slated for March next year.

Kılıçdaroğlu confirmed Yavaş's candidacy while addressing reporters and party supporters during the inauguration of the CHP's 100th Year Memorial Forest in Ankara on Sept. 10.

Yavaş, who secured victory in the 2019 elections with 50.9 percent of the vote, expressed his intentions to run for reelection during a recent gathering in Ankara on Aug. 30.

"If God permits and you support me, I want to stand in the elections and hopefully be with you for another five years," Yavaş conveyed his hopes.

The announcement followed a recent move by Kılıçdaroğlu as he confirmed the party's intention to renominate both Yavaş and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who also signaled his candidacy on Aug. 15.

In the 2019 local elections, CHP's mayoral candidates received support from the İYİ (Good) Party. However, İYİ Party leader Meral Akşener recently announced that her party intends to run its own candidates in the country's all 81 provinces, including Istanbul and Ankara, for the upcoming local elections.

Akşener stated that the final decision to contest the elections independently would be made after discussions at the party's general administrative board meeting scheduled for Sept. 13.