CHP's goal for Istanbul is clear! Who will be nominated in the districts?

The Republican People's Party (CHP) has accelerated its local election efforts. In the CHP, where the candidate determination process has begun to be discussed, 143 members of parliament completed their field work last week. 

The deputies, who conducted field work in 68 cities, held interviews with prospective candidates and also took the pulse of the cities and districts by meeting with non-governmental organizations and opinion leaders in the provinces where they were assigned. 

REPORT PREPARED, TO BE DISCUSSED AT THE PARTY ASSEMBLY

According to the report by Eray Görgülü from T24, it has been learned that the deputies will present their field work to the Headquarters in the form of a report, and the work is expected to be brought to the agenda at the Party Assembly, which will meet on Thursday.

ISTANBUL IS NOT AMONG THE 68 PROVINCES

It was noted that Istanbul was not among the 68 provinces where deputies were assigned. 

ÖZEL HAD POINTED TO İMAMOĞLU

While it has been discussed behind the scenes for some time that Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu will be decisive regarding district mayoral candidates in Istanbul, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel had used the expression, "Regarding candidacies in Istanbul, the Provincial Chair, Mr. Ekrem, and the Headquarters will all sit down and look at it together." 

GOAL OF MAJORITY IN THE IMM COUNCIL

While it has been learned that the İmamoğlu team and the Headquarters have accelerated their work regarding Istanbul candidacies, the CHP's primary goal in Istanbul will be to obtain a majority in the Metropolitan Municipality Council. 

WHO WILL BE NOMINATED IN WHICH DISTRICTS OF ISTANBUL?

While efforts are focused on districts lost by a small margin in 2019 in order to increase the number of districts managed by the CHP to over 20, eyes are also turned to the districts currently held by the CHP. Büyükçekmece Mayor Hasan Akgün, who is of Black Sea origin and one of the mayors who acted with İmamoğlu during the party congress process, stands out as one of the names expected to be nominated in the local elections in March.

BEYLİKDÜZÜ

Another name who is of Black Sea origin and acted with İmamoğlu during the congress process is Beylikdüzü Mayor Murat Çalık. It is expected that Çalık, who was elected to the Beylikdüzü mayoral seat vacated by İmamoğlu—who was nominated for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in the 2019 elections—will be nominated for another term for Beylikdüzü, one of the CHP's strongholds. 

KÜÇÜKÇEKMECE

Küçükçekmece Mayor Kemal Çebi, who is of Black Sea origin and acted with İmamoğlu during the congress process, is also among the names expected to be nominated for another term. 

SARIYER

Another name of Black Sea origin, Sarıyer Mayor Şükrü Genç, is also among the mayors who want to continue for another term. Genç, who has been elected mayor for three consecutive terms since 2009 in Sarıyer, took the municipality from the AKP with 36.5 percent of the vote in 2009, and increased his vote share to 51 percent in 2014 and 56 percent in 2019. It is stated that if Genç performs successfully in the satisfaction survey conducted by the Headquarters, the only obstacle before him could be his closeness to Kılıçdaroğlu. 

WILL THEY CONTINUE WITH YOUNG MAYORS?

It is considered certain that Kartal Mayor Gökhan Yüksel, one of the young mayors who is close to İmamoğlu and acted with him during the congress process, will be nominated for another term. Yüksel was elected Mayor with 51.1 percent of the vote in the 2019 local elections.

In Beşiktaş, which is known as one of the CHP's strongholds and where Rıza Akpolat was elected mayor with 73 percent in 2019, it is expected that they will continue with the current mayor for another term. Akpolat had acted with Ekrem İmamoğlu at the Istanbul Provincial Congress and the Party Congress. 

NUMBER OF PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES IN BAKIRKÖY REACHES 18

In Bakırköy, another district that is a CHP stronghold and was won with 56.8 percent of the vote in 2019, the current Mayor Bülent Kerimoğlu, who supported Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu during the congress process, had announced his candidacy for Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor. In Bakırköy, where the search for a new candidate continues, 18 party members have applied for the mayoral candidacy. It is considered certain that Avcılar Mayor Turan Hançerli, Esenyurt Mayor Kemal Deniz, Kadıköy Mayor Şerdil Dara Odabaşı, Maltepe Mayor Ali Kılıç, Şişli Mayor Muammer Keskin, and Adalar Mayor Erdem Gül, who supported Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu during the CHP congress process, will be replaced.

It is stated that the situation of Ataşehir Mayor Battal İlgezdi, one of the mayors who supported Kılıçdaroğlu during the congress process, is still uncertain. Another name mentioned for Ataşehir is former CHP Deputy Chairman Onursal Adıgüzel, who was present at the zoom meeting whose footage was leaked to the public and which was held under the management of Ekrem İmamoğlu.

SPECIAL WORK IS BEING CONDUCTED FOR 7 DISTRICTS WITH CLOSE VOTE MARGINS

Meanwhile, in the CHP, special work is being conducted not only for the municipalities currently managed but also for the municipalities lost in the 2019 local elections by margins ranging from 2 to 4 percent. In the 2019 local elections, the AKP received 49.1 percent and the CHP 47.4 percent in Eyüp; the AKP 50.4 percent and the CHP 46 percent in Zeytinburnu; the AKP 49.8 percent and the CHP 45.2 percent in Bahçelievler; the AKP 48.2 percent and the CHP 45.4 percent in Üsküdar; the AKP 50.2 percent and the CHP 46.2 percent in Tuzla; and the AKP 49.2 percent and the CHP 44.5 percent in Bayrampaşa. In Silivri, the MHP candidate won the election with 46.7 percent of the vote, while the CHP's vote share remained at 43.9 percent in this district.

News Source: 12punto