Istanbul Mayors Mesut Kösedağı and Esin Köymen join Yeni Parti

Several prominent municipal leaders in Istanbul have resigned from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) to join the Yeni Parti, led by Özgür Özel.

Kadıköy Mayor Mesut Kösedağı announced his departure following a disciplinary process within the CHP that included a request for his expulsion. Kösedağı was joined by 30 of the 36 members of the Kadıköy Municipal Council in his move to the new party.

Following this, Maltepe Mayor Esin Köymen also announced her resignation from the CHP after 25 years of membership to join Yeni Parti. Köymen, who was elected with nearly 60 percent of the vote in the 2024 local elections, stated that her decision was driven by the need to find new political paths to meet changing societal needs.

These shifts follow internal friction within the CHP, which recently initiated disciplinary proceedings against several mayors. The movement of these officials provides Yeni Parti with its first municipal administrative footholds in Istanbul.