He had decided not to participate in the primary: Mansur Yavaş reportedly proposed a 'dual candidate' formula at the tripartite summit

The Republican People's Party's (CHP) decision to determine its presidential candidate through a primary election has sparked a new debate on the political agenda.

The differing statements from Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) Mayor Mansur Yavaş and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, whose names have come to the forefront for candidacy, have drawn attention.

While İBB Mayor İmamoğlu supports the primary, ABB Mayor Yavaş stated that it is too early to determine a candidate, noting that Turkey's real agenda is the economy.

Following these statements, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel met with ABB Mayor Yavaş and İBB Mayor İmamoğlu on February 9. The primary was discussed at the 3-way summit. After the meeting, Özel shared the message, "We are together, we will be together, we will win together, Turkey will win..."

ABB Mayor Yavaş conveyed to CHP leader Özel during the meeting that he would not enter the primary. Stating that alternatives should be on the table, Yavaş reportedly said, "Our agenda should be hunger and poverty; people are miserable, and we can only topple the government with this agenda. We should work on this and give the public confidence that we can fix the broken economy, and this should be our priority."

Yavaş's decision not to participate in the primary also effectively ruled out a primary in which İmamoğlu would participate alone.

On the other hand, details of what was discussed at the critical 3-way summit in the CHP have emerged. According to a report by Sözcü, Özel and İmamoğlu emphasized at the summit that a primary should be held. Yavaş, however, reiterated his view that he is not against a primary but that there is a problem with the timing.

Yavaş, who requested that the primary not be the sole criterion and that polls and alternative options also be evaluated, expressed his concern by saying, "They are all our party members, our members; we respect the decision they will make, but this is not the agenda. A primary leads to division among party members. There are signs of this already."

Yavaş said, "Our agenda should be hunger and poverty; people are miserable. We can only topple the government with this agenda. We should work on this and give the public confidence that we can fix the broken economy, and this should be our priority."

Yavaş brought the dual candidate formula to the table at the 3-way summit. According to this formula, both names would be candidates, and the one who receives fewer votes in the first round of the election would become the Vice President.

If Yavaş does not participate in the primary and runs as a candidate, there will be more than one candidate in the presidential election. It was learned that Yavaş, who proposed the multiple-candidate suggestion, read an article by Ali Taş at the summit.

In his article, Taş says, "A gentleman's agreement can be made. If a primary is to be held, the other candidate who remains outside can, if they wish, express their loyalty to their party and participate in the presidential election independently with 100,000 signatures. The election will remain for the 2nd round, and it will be a three-candidate election. Two CHP mayors will receive votes from every region, and opposition votes will reach the highest level. The candidate who receives fewer votes in the first round will accept full support for the other candidate in advance and, if they wish, can also accept the vice presidency."