YENİ Party holds its first ordinary congress in Ankara: 800,000 members, 908 districts

YENİ Party held its 1st Ordinary Congress, organized under the slogan "Türkiye Yenileniyor," at the Ankara Sports Hall. Chairman Özgür Özel arrived at the hall around 10:00 with his wife Didem Özel and his daughter İpek Özel. At the congress, where 1,202 delegates are registered, Özel stated that they had reached the quorum required for the meeting and the opening, and announced that proceedings had begun.

On Özel's proposal, the delegates elected former Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) Chairman Murat Karayalçın as Chair of the Presiding Board. Karayalçın said that taking on this duty at YENİ Party's founding congress was a great honor for him.

After the Congress Presiding Board took office, participants watched a video clip describing the party's founding process, a message prepared using artificial intelligence from Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was removed from his post as Mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and whose detention continues, and a video message from Party of European Socialists President Stefan Löfven. A letter from Socialist International President and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and a joint message from some detained mayors were also read out at the congress.

In his message, İmamoğlu criticized the delegate system: "The era of old-style politics based on delegate hunting and delegate barons, in which leaders have themselves elected through the names they themselves pick, is over. Today is the first day of a new and free politics." Arguing that allowing party members to directly elect their administrators would also strengthen citizens' participation in local and central governments, İmamoğlu said, "We will grow the Türkiye Alliance together."

Presiding Board Chair Karayalçın announced that the party had reached 800,000 members in the roughly four months since its founding and had organized in 80 provinces and 908 districts. He said that one day earlier, 258 people who had served as members of parliament in previous terms had also joined the party. Describing members' direct voting in the election of provincial and district chairs and of the general chair as "a revolutionary practice," Karayalçın said, "Our members elect our provincial chairs, our district chairs and our general chair directly, as themselves, not through delegates."

At the congress, delegates proposed holding the elections for the Party Council (PM) and the High Disciplinary Board (YDK) by the bloc list method. The motion put to a vote by Presiding Board Chair Karayalçın was accepted unanimously by the delegates. The delegates also unanimously accepted a motion to debate the activity reports without reading them. Karayalçın announced that a 30-minute period had begun for general chair candidacy applications.

The congress was attended by former members of parliament, mayors, and representatives of civil society organizations and political parties, as well as representatives from the Socialist International, the Party of European Socialists, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. The embassies and diplomatic missions of foreign countries were also present at the congress. MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli sent a congratulatory wreath to the congress. The congress program includes the discussion of the activity and audit reports and the final declaration, the election of the general chair and the determination of the party bodies.