Özel rallies CHP mayors, pledges stronger cooperation

ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) gathered its mayors on April 25 in Ankara, where leader Özgür Özel called for unity and pledged closer coordination as the party faces political pressure and legal scrutiny over its municipalities.

The mayors’ meeting brought together leaders from metropolitan cities, provinces, districts and towns in a series of closed-door sessions at the party headquarters. According to party officials, the talks focused on governance, municipal performance and a coordinated response to ongoing investigations and legal actions targeting CHP-run local governments.

In his closing remarks, Özel said the party had recovered from a difficult electoral period and rebuilt its political momentum, urging local leaders to maintain unity.

“We showed first to ourselves, then to our people, that we can rise from where we fell and embrace one another,” Özel said, according to remarks delivered at the meeting.

He also said that CHP municipalities represented a model of “people-centered governance” and said the party would continue to expand its influence through local administrations.

Özel told mayors that the party’s success in local elections reflected a renewed bond with voters and insisted that CHP’s political trajectory would continue to strengthen.

Party officials said discussions also covered a “joint roadmap” for municipalities and strategies to address administrative pressure and investigations affecting CHP-run local governments.

The CHP has intensified its push for a by-election following renewed investigations and detentions involving opposition-controlled local governments.

Under Turkish law, a by-election becomes mandatory if vacancies reach 5 percent of the total parliament, or 30 lawmakers. Currently, eight seats are vacant due to deaths and resignations.

While the opposition could theoretically reach the threshold by coordinating the resignation of at least 22 additional lawmakers, any such move would still require approval from the parliamentary General Assembly, where the ruling alliance holds a majority.