At Yeni Parti's first congress, Özgür Özel is re-elected party leader with 1154 votes

Özgür Özel was re-elected party leader at the Yeni Parti 1st Ordinary Congress held at Ankara Arena, taking the votes of 1154 valid delegates. Of the 1202 registered delegates, 1157 cast ballots.

The congress convened under the slogan "Turkey Is Renewing". Özel arrived in the hall together with his wife Didem Özel and his daughter İpek Özel; after a moment of silence and the Turkish national anthem, he delivered his opening speech. "When I look at this hall, I see not those who change their shirts, but those who wear shirts of fire, those who do not accept defeat," he said.

Former SHP leader Murat Karayalçın was elected to the Congress Chairmanship on the delegates' proposal. Karayalçın said that serving as congress chair at his party's founding congress would be an honour he would carry for the rest of his life.

The congress's real political battle will be fought in the Party Council elections. A change to the party statute was made beforehand and the number of Party Council members was raised from 80 to 150 for one term. Under the new model, a quota of 80 seats is envisaged for MPs, 40 for party organisation representatives and 30 for figures who will take part in policy development work. This 30-person team is planned to consist of experts in the fields of the economy, justice, education, health, culture and arts, and the environment. Although the statute stipulates the slate list as the basis, the election is being held with a block list.

Özel had been elected party leader by the votes of party members in the primary held on 8 November.

The congress was attended by former MPs, mayors, representatives of the Socialist International and the Party of European Socialists, members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, representatives of political party groups from the European Parliament, representatives of political parties and organisations founded by Turkish citizens living abroad, and representatives of foreign embassies and diplomatic missions. CHP was not invited; the party leadership cited the CHP leadership's coming to office by court ruling as the reason for the decision.

MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli sent a congratulatory wreath made up of white lilies, red roses and white and red gerberas. Posters of Atatürk and Özel, Turkish flags, and photographs of Özel with Ekrem İmamoğlu, Altan Öymen, Hikmet Çetin and Karayalçın were projected onto the hall's screens; the slogan "Our Route Is the Nation, Our Goal Is Power, Let Us March, Friends" was displayed.