YENİ Party holds its first congress at Ankara Arena: 1,202 delegates, single candidate Özgür Özel

YENİ Party held its first ordinary congress at Ankara Arena; 1,202 delegates will vote in the election in which Özgür Özel is the sole candidate for the leadership.

The party leader will be elected at the congress today, while the party council (PM) election will be held tomorrow. Secretary-General Yunus Emre read the Founding Congress Declaration to the delegates.

The party was founded on 24 July 2025, after Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was declared CHP leader once again by an 'absolute nullity' ruling issued over the congress at which the CHP leadership changed. The declaration argued that 'our political movement's institutional existence was intervened in by the unlawful absolute nullity ruling of 21 May 2026'; the 'civil coup process' that began on 19 March and 'the pressures on our presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu' were also included in the text.

The declaration asserts that the will for change that emerged in the 2024 local elections was being blocked, and refers to 'the democracy struggle spreading from Saraçhane to every corner of Turkey'. The text states, 'We declare from here: We will change this dark order,' announcing the goal of 'establishing a new order' beyond a change of government.

The party's political and intellectual foundation was defined in the declaration as 'the Republican Revolution under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk'; human rights, secularism, the rule of law, strengthening labour, public interest and social solidarity were listed among its core principles. The party aims to grow the 'Turkey Alliance' with an emphasis on a modern social democratic identity.

In the section on the organisational model, it was stated that district and provincial chairs as well as the party leader will be determined by the direct will of the members, that the race for candidacy will be conducted under 'fair and transparent rules', that officials will be accountable and that their terms of office will be limited. The text also stated that neighbourhood, district and provincial assemblies and participatory budget practices will be expanded, and that young people, women, labour organisations and civil society will be influential in decision-making processes.

The declaration stated that the party's founding mandate was given by 'the nation', that the nation gave it its name and that its budget was formed by the nation's contributions, using the phrase 'we are leaving the founding phase behind and beginning our march to power'.