CHP Chairman Özgür Özel met with Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş and Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu for dinner. The meeting hosted by Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş lasted 2.5 hours.
During the meeting, they wanted to resolve differences of opinion over the ‘member-based appeal poll’ announced by Özgür Özel as a “road map” to determine the CHP's presidential candidate.
As a matter of fact, for İmamoğlu, who called the announced method a ‘revolution’, and for Yavaş, who objected to the method and timing, he said, ‘We will talk and find the right way.
So was the best way found in the 2.5-hour meeting?
According to the information we received from the meeting, there is no agreement yet on the right way forward.
Mansur Yavaş continued to object to both the method and the timing.
Özel and İmamoğlu, on the other hand, were more interested in finding out whether Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the 7th president of the CHP, had any influence on Yavaş's objections than the reasons for his objections. More precisely, they wanted to know whether Yavaş had acted together with Kılıçdaroğlu in candidate selection.
However, according to the information we have obtained, Yavaş responded to questions hinting at this situation by saying, “Common sense prevails. My objection to this method and finding its timing wrong was formed through consultations with my teammates and opinions from the public. It is normal for others to think this way too. There have already been many names in the media who have openly written that they do not find this method and its timing right.”.
On the other hand, Yavaş conveyed to Özel and İmamoğlu that he would not enter this race if the insistence on nominating a candidate with such a method continues.
He stated that this would be more of a separation than a competition and demanded a review of the method.
This time, Özgür Özel will ask the CHP Party Assembly to approve this method of candidate selection from Ekrem İmamoğlu's side.
If the PM also shows a tendency in this direction, the party's parliamentary group, which is the final and final body that will determine the CHP's presidential candidate, will be called upon. However, it is claimed that there are some in the party group who do not find the method and timing of such a nomination right.
The summary of the 2.5-hour meeting is that all 3 actors are standing where they stand and Özel has a diminishing amount of time and increasing pressure to get all organs of the party and the society to accept the formula that will make İmamoğlu the candidate.