CHP unveils another extensive slate of mayoral candidates

ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has unveiled mayoral candidates for next March's local polls in an additional 126 electoral districts, including nine provinces.

The announcement made by party spokesperson Deniz Yücel on Dec. 21 revealed that the party, meanwhile, opted for organizational primary elections in 35 constituencies before finalizing candidate selections.

The decision-making process unfolded with the subsequent central executive board and the party assembly meetings led by CHP leader Özgür Özel. All candidates proposed by the central executive board underwent a thorough voting process by the assembly's 60 members.

Among the notable candidacies, Muharrem Erkek, a former deputy from northwestern Çanakkale province and a figure in the central executive board, emerged as the CHP's choice for the mayoral position, succeeding Ülgür Gökhan. The mayor decided not to seek reelection.

In central Kırşehir and northeastern Ardahan cities, the CHP renominated the incumbent mayors Selahattin Ekicioğlu and Faruk Demir, respectively.

The newly announced candidates include Ferdi Zeybek, the Chamber of Architects' provincial head, in Manisa, İsmail Sonkaya in Konya and Cevat Öncü in Samsun.

In districts such as Bartın, Kütahya and Amasya, the CHP selected Rıza Yalçınkaya, Eyüp Kahveci and Turgay Sevindi as mayoral candidates, respectively.

Noteworthy nominations in Ankara and Istanbul were also unveiled. Adem Barış Aşkın, Mehmet Doğanay and Fethi Yaşar are set to represent the CHP in Elmadağ, Güdül and Yenimahalle districts in the capital Ankara, respectively. Elmadağ and Yenimahalle already have incumbent mayors as the party's candidates.

Of particular interest, Mahir Polat, the CHP's candidate for Istanbul's Fatih district, is the former secretary-general of the metropolitan municipality and founder of its cultural heritage restoration body.

Tarık Balyalı, the CHP leader of the Istanbul city council, is the party's choice for the Pendik district.

While candidates for Adana, Mersin and Aydın – currently held by the CHP – were anticipated during the recent meeting, the party leadership decided to defer these announcements to a later date.

This announcement comes on the heels of the CHP's earlier revelation of mayoral candidates in over 220 electoral districts, including major metropolitan cities. Renominations for Mansur Yavaş in Ankara, Ekrem İmamoğlu in Istanbul and Tanju Özcan in Bolu refer to the party's strategic choices on key battlegrounds.

Meanwhile, in a departure from its 2019 cooperation strategy with the CHP, which saw joint successes in pivotal constituencies, the İYİ (Good) Party has chosen to field its own candidates in the upcoming elections.