Türkiye
Özgür Özel’s YENİ Parti opens its first congress in Ankara as seven jailed Istanbul mayors announce they are joining
Developing
- What happened
- YENİ Parti, set up in July by Özgür Özel after a court removed him as CHP leader, opened its first congress in Ankara with Özel the only candidate for chair.
- Why it matters
- It is the party’s first test as a separate force: seven jailed Istanbul district mayors joined, and Özel set out a bid for power.
- What’s next
- Delegates elect the chair on Saturday and the party assembly on Sunday, Diken reports.
How this story developed
- 09:50First report
- 11:072nd source
- 11:07Confirmed
- 11:16+2 outlets in 34 min
- 12:23+3 outlets in 57 min
- 13:558th source
- 09:50First reportCumhuriyet
- 11:072nd sourceDiken
- 11:07ConfirmedWas: Single source
- 11:16+2 outlets in 34 minHürriyet and Sözcü
- 12:23+3 outlets in 57 minHabertürk, Medyascope and BBC Türkçe
- 13:55Latest8th sourceNTV
Full story
A first congress
YENİ Parti opened its first ordinary congress in Ankara on Saturday under the slogan “Türkiye Yenileniyor” (Türkiye is renewing), Cumhuriyet, Diken, Hürriyet and other outlets reported. About 1,200 delegates are taking part, and Özgür Özel is the only candidate for party chair: no other application reached the presiding board within the 30 minutes it allowed, Cumhuriyet said. According to Diken, the chair is elected on Saturday and the party assembly on Sunday; delegates voted unanimously to elect the assembly and the disciplinary board on a single block list.
Özel and his team founded the party on 24 July 2026. In May an appeals court annulled the CHP congress that had made him leader three years earlier, removed him and his executive and ordered Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu back as chair, Diken recalled. The former SHP leader Murat Karayalçın chairs the congress, Hürriyet reported.
Jailed mayors join
Seven jailed Istanbul district mayors announced in a joint message, read out by deputy chair Yaşar Tüzün, that they were joining YENİ Parti under Özel’s leadership, Medyascope, Diken and Cumhuriyet reported. An AI-made video message from the jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was shown in the hall, alongside messages from the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, president of the Socialist International, and Stefan Löfven, president of the Party of European Socialists.
Every party except the CHP was invited, Diken and Sözcü reported, and the MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli sent a wreath. Diken saw a sign in the hall aimed at Kılıçdaroğlu that read “we do not forgive you”.
Özel aims for power
In his speech Özel promised to root out favouritism in the public sector and spoke of the people still in jail.
“We will set free all the innocent people lying in prison. The political conspiracy case has collapsed. All our friends must be released.”
Özgür Özel, YENİ Parti chair, Habertürk(translated)
“We have the courage to win this election and the skill to govern Türkiye.”
Özgür Özel, YENİ Parti chair, Cumhuriyet(translated)
He ended by reading a poem of his own, “İçimdeki Memleket” (The Homeland Within Me), Cumhuriyet reported.