35th Republican People's Party Ordinary Convention

Republican People's Party leadership election, 2016

16-17 January 2016
Turnout	97.1%
Candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Party CHP Constituency İzmir (II) Delegate vote 990 Percentage 100.0%
Leader before election Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu CHP Elected Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu CHP

The 35th Republican People's Party Ordinary Convention will take place on 16 and 17 January 2016, having originally been scheduled for 2014. The convention date was pushed back from 2014, when it was supposed to be held two years after the previous in 2012, due to the 18th Extraordinary Convention that was held in September 2014. Held shortly after the CHP's defeat in the November 2015 general election, the party is expected to see challengers to the leadership of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who has not yet announced whether he would seek re-election as party leader.

In November 2015, Kılıçdaroğlu ruled out any prospect of holding an Extraordinary Convention prior to the scheduled Ordinary Convention despite calls from some CHP MPs, claiming that the preparations for the Ordinary Convention had already began.

Leadership election

Candidates

Standing

• 
  Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, incumbent leader of the party since 2010
• 
  Mustafa Balbay, MP for İzmir (II) and former defendant in the Ergenekon trials

• Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Member of Parliament for İzmir's second electoral district and incumbent leader of the CHP (announced 14 November 2015)
• Mustafa Balbay, Member of Parliament for İzmir's second electoral district and former defendent in the Ergenekon trials (announced 11 November 2015)

Possible

• 
  Metin Feyzioğlu, President of the Turkish Bars Association
• 
  İlhan Cihaner, Member of Parliament for Denizli
• 
  Selin Sayek Böke, Member of Parliament for İzmir's second electoral district and deputy leader of the CHP responsible for economic policy

• Metin Feyzioğlu, President of the Turkish Bars Association
• İlhan Cihaner, Member of Parliament for Denizli
• Selin Sayek Böke, Member of Parliament for İzmir's second electoral district and deputy leader of the CHP responsible for economic policy
• Aykut Erdoğdu, Member of Parliament for İstanbul
• Ümit Kocasakal, President of the İstanbul Bar Association

Declined

• 
  Tuncay Özkan, Member of Parliament for İzmir (I) who was incriminated during the Ergenekon trials

• Tuncay Özkan, Member of Parliament for İzmir (I) who was incriminated during the Ergenekon trials. Announced his support for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on 13 November 2015.

Withdrew

• 
  Muharrem İnce, Member of Parliament for Yalova
• 
  Umut Oran, Vice President of Socialist International, former CHP deputy leader and MP

• Muharrem İnce, Member of Parliament for Yalova (announced 9 November 2015). Withdrew 11 January 2016.
• Umut Oran, Vice President of Socialist International, former CHP deputy leader and former Member of Parliament for İstanbul's third electoral district (announced 4 November 2015). Withdrew on 14 January 2016.

Nomination process

Out of the 1,275 delegates taking part in the voting process, a candidate needed 127 signatures to contest the leadership election.

Results

Candidate		Votes	Percentage
	Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu	990	100.0
Invalid/blank votes		248	–
Total		1,238	100.0
Number of delegates/turnout		1,275	97.1