CHP endorses Özel’s slate for top boards at convention
ANKARA
The list presented by main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel for the party’s top boards was approved in full during an extraordinary party convention held in Ankara on April 6, solidifying his control after securing another term as chair.
Özel, reelected as chairman with 1,171 delegate votes, submitted his picks for the party assembly (PM), high disciplinary board and the science-culture-art platform.
The entire slate was accepted by the more than 1,350 delegates in attendance, outpacing alternative lists submitted by CHP lawmakers Oğuz Kaan Salıcı and Gürsel Erol.
Zonguldak MP Deniz Yavuzyılmaz topped the vote count for the party assembly.
The new board also includes Berkay Gezgin — known for crafting Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s 2019 campaign slogan, “Everything will be great,” and who was arrested during pro-İmamoğlu protests — and Berna Özgül, sister of murdered courier Samet Özgül.
Several names from the previous assembly failed to make the new list, including İlhan Uzgel, Mehmet Tüm, Hüseyin Yaşar and Orhan Sarıbal. Others who dropped from the board include Cem Aydın, Volkan Demir, Emin Umut Dikili, Müslim Sarı, Koza Yardımcı and Erbil Aydınlık.
The extraordinary meeting was convened amid concerns over a possible court-appointed trustee following a legal case alleging irregularities during the party’s 2023 convention.
