CHP leader says he won’t run for presidency

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Özgür Özel has reiterated that he will not run for the presidency in the next elections, thereby opening the path for the two strongest presidential candidates of the opposition party: Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş.

“I am not a candidate [for presidency]. I have explained it before. My target is to bring my political party to power,” Özel said in a televised interview over the weekend.

Recalling that, as the chairman of the CHP, his biggest aim is to end President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 24-year rule in the country, Özel said, “It will be the greatest honor to do down in history as someone who was the leader of the team that accomplished this job.”

"I am the coach. If there is a penalty kick in the 90th minute, I will ask all the fans, make the right decision and let the most deserving player take the penalty,” Özel stressed.

Türkiye will normally go to the presidential and parliamentary polls in May 2028, but there are scenarios for holding them in late 2027 so that Erdoğan can run for office for another term.

The CHP’s potential candidates for the presidency are İmamoğlu and Yavaş. Both men have higher ranks among the most popular CHP politicians.