Türkiye’s emergent main opposition New Party leader Özgür Özel said on July 27 that his party could win more than 40 percent of the vote, while confirming preparations for both scheduled and potential snap elections.
“The main motivation of the New Party is to come to power. We will come to power so that we can save everyone. There is no other way,” Özel said in televised remarks on private broadcaster Halk TV.
Özel said opinion polls showed between 49 percent and 70 percent of respondents were open to voting for the New Party, adding that the party’s ultimate goal was to secure over half of the vote.
“I see that if the New Party explains itself well, meets the public’s expectations and the public continues to embrace it, it can rise above 40 percent,” he said.
The opposition leader also said the party was not closed to electoral alliances.
While he said he did not expect a snap election in the near future, Özel noted that the New Party would likely become eligible to contest elections after holding its first party convention in October, making it eligible for any vote held from next March onward.
He said the party was also preparing for the possibility of an earlier snap election by working with another party that already meets the legal requirements to participate in elections.
“The New Party may not compete under its own name, but it will enter the election on another party’s list,” Özel said.
Separately, the New Party on July 28 appointed Veli Ağbaba, Burhanettin Bulut, Turan Taşkın Özer, Özgür Karabat and Seyit Torun as its parliamentary leaders.
“The New Party has now completed its establishment and has begun its duties. May it be beneficial for all of us and for our nation,” Özel said after the meeting.
Meanwhile, dozens of mayors were expected on July 28 to join the New Party following a historic split from the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The expected transfers follow Özel’s departure from the CHP on July 24 along with 90 lawmakers to establish the New Party, dealing a major blow to Türkiye’s oldest political party and reshaping the balance of power in parliament.
Özel’s breakaway came two months after an Ankara court annulled the CHP’s 2023 leadership election over allegations of vote-buying, removing Özel as leader and reinstating his defeated predecessor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
