The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) will launch its unofficial election campaign in early March to unveil its initial promises and a cadre of 350 people as part of efforts to bring about solutions to Türkiye’s fundamental problems.
In an interview with daily Nefes published on Feb. 20, CHP leader Özgür Özel recalled that they have recently activated the campaign office for Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the party’s presidential candidate, behind bars since March 2025 due to alleged corruption claims.
“On March 2, we will introduce a cadre of 350 persons and make a presentation about our 20 new promises and how we will resolve this country’s problems. This will be a start,” Özel said.
Among these promises will be pledging citizenship income, three meals a day at the schools and other surprises, Özel said, underlining that more substantial election promises will be announced before the elections.
A week after the announcement of these promises, İmamoğlu will stand before the court almost a year after he was arrested, Özel stated.
“We are in the middle of the biggest election campaign of the world political history. This is 338th day. We had already said that we’ll do it even it takes 1000 days,” he suggested, vowing they will come to power and save Türkiye from the current government.
He also said they will continue weekly rallies in the Anatolian cities as well as in different districts of Istanbul.
On a question about the government’s calls for a new constitution, Özel said, “We have no intention to generate a new constitution with this government. But we also need to see what they intend to bring about with constitutional amendments and their real intentions. We cannot accept a process led by the government that excludes us.”
