Politics · Turkey · 13 hrs ago
Turkey’s New Party prepares for first convention amid dispute over voting rules
Turkey’s New Party will hold its first ordinary convention in Ankara on Saturday and Sunday.
Özgür Özel is the sole candidate for party chair, with the leadership vote scheduled for the first day.
About 1,200 delegates are expected to vote, and elections for the party assembly and disciplinary board are set for the second day.
The party’s rules call for open-list voting, but Özel’s team is preparing a closed-list system that delegates would accept or reject as a whole.
Open-list voting would let candidates outside the chair’s preferred list win seats, so the change could strengthen Özel’s control over the party bodies.
The convention comes after bribery allegations and resignations, while the party’s internal balance between Özel’s team and supporters of jailed former Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is also in focus.
Delegates will decide the voting method and choose the party assembly and disciplinary board at the convention.
The New Party will hold its first ordinary convention on Saturday amid a dispute over voting rules.
Chairperson Özgür Özel and his team are preparing to change the bylaws to use closed-list voting for the party assembly and High Disciplinary Board.
The bylaws currently provide for open-list voting, but allow a switch if at least one-tenth of convention members submit a written proposal.
Özel will be the sole candidate in the chairpersonship election, with about 1,200 delegates expected to vote.
The party assembly and disciplinary board elections are scheduled for the convention’s second day in Ankara.
- Who
- The New Party and its delegates. Özgür Özel is the sole candidate for chairperson.
- What
- The party will hold its first ordinary convention, with elections and a dispute over whether to use closed-list voting for two bodies.
- When
- Saturday; the elections for the party assembly and disciplinary board are scheduled for the second day.
- Where
- Ankara, the capital of Turkey.
- Why
- Özel is reportedly seeking closed-list voting to prevent changes to his proposed candidate list and finalize results more quickly.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The party chairpersonship election is scheduled for the first day of the convention, with Özel as the sole candidate.
Elections for the party assembly and High Disciplinary Board are scheduled to take place in Ankara.
- Convention
- First ordinary convention of the New Party
- Delegates
- Approximately 1,200 expected to vote
- Current voting rule
- Open-list system under the party bylaws
- Proposed voting rule
- Closed-list system for the party assembly and High Disciplinary Board
- Change threshold
- A written proposal from at least one-tenth of convention members is required to switch to closed-list voting
- Party assembly
- 150 members, with 77 seats allocated to the parliamentary group