CHP, İYİ Party leaders meet to discuss upcoming local polls

ANKARA

The newly-elected chair of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Özgür Özel, engaged in a meeting with İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener on Nov. 30 in a bid to forge new alliances ahead of the local election slated for next March.

The meeting carries significance as Özel, who recently took the helm from the longstanding leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, endeavors to mend ties with the İYİ Party. The ties between the two opposition forces had frayed following their defeat in the twin presidential and parliamentary May elections.

Unlike the 2019 elections, where it supported CHP candidates in crucial battlegrounds like Istanbul and the capital Ankara, the İYİ Party has now declared its intention to field its own candidates in all 81 provinces for the upcoming local elections.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Özel acknowledged the challenges of forming an alliance. "The word alliance is tired. It evokes crowds and long-lasting meetings. But local elections require a little more flexibility, quick decision-making and bilateral cooperation," he remarked.

The CHP leader said he asked for potential cooperation for the local elections to Akşener during the meeting, seeking a reconsideration of the İYİ Party's decision.

"We respect the decisions taken, but if possible, we asked whether the people appointed by our parties could be given the opportunity to work together for cooperation regarding the local elections in the next period," he stated.

In response, Akşener indicated that the matter would be deliberated upon during her party's general administrative board meeting scheduled for Dec. 4. "We will ask this question to the general administrative board. Then we will see what answer they will give," she said.

The İYİ Party played a role in bolstering the opposition's success in the 2019 elections by supporting Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mansur Yavaş in Istanbul and Ankara, which had long been under the governance of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

However, tensions arose after the May polls, with public disagreements between the İYİ Party leader and the then-opposition candidate Kılıçdaroğlu.