Ozgur Ozel becomes new leader of Türkiye’s main opposition CHP party

ANKARA

Ozgur Ozel was elected chairman of Türkiye’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) early Sunday in the second round of voting of the party’s 38th Ordinary Congress.

Ozel received 812 votes, while then-leader of CHP Kemal Kilicdaroglu received 536 in the second round.

As the absolute majority could not be achieved in the first round, the second-round election started at 00.30 a.m. local time and was completed at 2.30 a.m.

Ozel received 682 votes in the first round and Kilicdaroglu received 664 votes from a total of 1,366 deputies.

Ozel, 49, became the eighth chairman of the party. He was deputy parliamentary group chairman of CHP.

He was born in the Aegean province of Manisa. He graduated from Ege University Faculty of Pharmaceuticals.

Ozel was elected deputy for the electoral district of Manisa in the 2011 general election and was re-elected in June 2015 and November 2015.

He was elected to the CHP party council in the party’s 18th Extraordinary Convention in September 2014.

Ozel, who speaks German and English, is married and has one child.

• CHP
• Kemal Kilicdaroglu
• Ozgur Ozel