Turkish main opposition boasts the most inclusive candidacy list for polls, says party spokesperson

The 550 candidates of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the upcoming parliamentary elections will represent the most inclusive list of candidates in comparison to the other main political parties, a senior party official has stated, particularly referring to the 103 female candidates who may be elected.

"An overall assessment of our list would clearly show that it's the most democratic, inclusive and embracing one compared to other parties," CHP spokesperson Haluk Koç told reporters hours before the deadline for parties to submit their final candidacy lists to the Supreme Election Board (YSK).
"Our list was crafted in a way to represent the country's different regions, as well as its different faith groups," Koç added.

Having selected around 85 percent of its parliamentary nominees through primary elections in late March, the CHP's party assembly discussed the rest of the candidates in a hours-long meeting on April 6, chaired by party head Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu.

Koç said 103 of the party's 550 candidates are female and underlined that many of them stood a good chance of being elected, emphasizing that the first places in 14 constituencies including Istanbul, Ankara and ?zmir have been reserved for female candidates.

?afak Pavey will run in Istanbul while Selin Sayek Böke, an economist who recently joined the CHP, will run in ?zmir.

Minority representative

The CHP is also breaking new ground by introducing a candidate from Turkey's Armenian community with the nomination of Selina Do?an Özuzun as a nominee Istanbul deputy. A graduate of Galatasaray University Law School with a master's degree from Bilgi University, Özuzun speaks Armenian, French and English.

Özuzun's candidacy...