The secular Republican People’s Party (CHP), the largest opposition party and oldest political force in Turkey, replaced Kilicdaroglu with Ozgur Ozel, a relatively unknown member of the party, after the latter won in the party’s congress by 812 to the former’s 536 votes.
Turkey held presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14. Erdogan’s alliance, led by his Justice and Development Party (AKP), won a majority of seats in the legislature, but no presidential candidate passed the mandatory 50% mark and a run-off vote was held on May 28 when Erdogan took 52.14 percent of the votes, while Kilicdaroglu received only 47.86 percent.
Since losing the vote, Kilicdaroglu has received strong criticism from within the ranks of his own party, blaming him for the string of losses in elections.
Ozel speaks German and English and was the deputy parliamentary group chairman of CHP. A pharmacist, he became the head of Turkey’s pharmacists association and was elected to parliament in 2011.
“Hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, we are setting out for municipal elections victory … may our road be open,” Ozel said following his victory, with Turkey’s municipal elections set for March.
