Özgür Özel | |
|---|---|
 Özel in 2023 | |
| Leader of the Main Opposition | |
| Assumed office 8 November 2023 |
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2024) |
His first electoral test as leader came in the 2024 Turkish local elections, where the results were described as a "spectacular upset" victory for the opposition CHP, [12] which despite the lack of any electoral pacts managed to retain all but one of its metropolitan mayoralties, while winning four more. In particular, the party's candidates in Turkey's largest city Istanbul and capital Ankara, Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mansur Yavaş, were re-elected by landslide 51% and 60%, respectively. Both mayors also won majorities in their respective metropolitan councils. The CHP also won many unexpected victories in areas that had been under AKP control for the previous two decades, including Bursa, Balıkesir, Manisa, Kütahya, Adıyaman, Amasya, Kırıkkale, Kilis and Denizli. The party also managed to win swathes of districts within many provinces, many of which delivered vote swings of over 30% in the CHP's favor. Overall, the CHP won 35 of Turkey's 81 provincial capitals, with the People's Alliance winning 32. [13] This was the first nationwide election since 1977 where the CHP came first in the popular vote. [14]
