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Ozgur Ozel was re-elected as chairman of Türkiye's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on Sunday, running unopposed at the party's 22nd Extraordinary Congress and securing all 835 valid votes cast.
The congress, held at the Nazim Hikmet Cultural Center in Ankara's Yenimahalle district, marks Ozel's third election to the party leadership in the past two years.
Of the 1,127 registered delegates, 917 participated in the voting, with 835 votes deemed valid and 82 invalid.
Notably absent from the voting were Istanbul delegates, natural delegates and 352 delegates designated by party headquarters who did not participate in the election process.
Speaking at the congress, Ozel addressed mounting political tensions in the opposition party, stating: "We have paid many prices, we pay them, and we will continue to pay them. But today, the reason CHP is targeted is the possibility of a change in power."
The CHP chairman accused the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) of "attempting to paralyze the opposition" through legal channels and internal discord.
"The current government is attacking CHP because it sees CHP as the structure that can change it through elections," Ozel said.
"They are trying to paralyze it, turn CHP into a structure with internal fights, and if possible, divide CHP and get rid of it," he concluded.
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