18.10.2026 23:43
In the YENİ Party İzmir provincial chairmanship primary, Çağatay Güç beat former İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu by 4,344 votes. According to unofficial results, Güç received 18,511 votes and Kocaoğlu 14,167. Güç, a 40-year-old civil engineer, was elected CHP İzmir Provincial Chair one year ago, resigned from the CHP in July, and moved to the YENİ Party with 30 district chairs. Details in our news.
Çağatay Güç had been elected CHP İzmir Provincial Chair on October 18, 2025. Exactly one year later, on the evening of October 18, 2026, this time he came first in the preliminary election for the NEW Party’s İzmir provincial chairmanship. His rival was Aziz Kocaoğlu, who had governed İzmir Metropolitan Municipality for years.
WHO GOT HOW MANY VOTES IN THE PRELIMINARY ELECTION?
Voting was held in 30 districts at 159 ballot boxes and ended at 18:00. According to unofficial results reported by Cumhuriyet, Güç received 18,511 votes and Kocaoğlu 14,167. The difference was 4,344 votes. Of 61,115 members eligible to vote, 32,678 went to the ballot boxes, and turnout was 53.5 percent. Kocaoğlu had entered the race as a candidate three days before the election.
Güç cast his vote in Aliağa. Following the results, he said of Kocaoğlu, “Aziz Mayor is a brand value of this city.” Kocaoğlu, in his written statement, said, “We did our duty and made a note in history,” and congratulated Güç. Election board member and deputy provincial chair Murat Aydın said the results had not yet been finalized and that there would be an objection process.
WHO IS ÇAĞATAY GÜÇ?
Çağatay Güç is the founding İzmir provincial chair of the NEW Party. His profession is civil engineering. He rose through the CHP from the youth branches to the provincial chairmanship, resigned from the party in summer 2026 and joined the NEW Party, whose chairman is Özgür Özel.
HOW OLD IS HE, WHERE IS HE FROM?
Güç was born in Ankara on August 9, 1986; he is 40 years old. His mother and father are teachers. He spent the first years of his childhood in the Çermik district of Diyarbakır; in 1992, the family moved to the Aliağa district of İzmir. After finishing Aliağa Alp Oğuz Anatolian High School, he studied civil engineering at Mustafa Kemal University. He is married and has one daughter.
HE WAS A CONTROL ENGINEER AT THE MUNICIPALITY
After graduation, he worked as a control engineer at Aliağa Municipality. He served as a workplace representative at the Chamber of Civil Engineers and obtained occupational safety expert and real estate valuation expert certificates. After leaving public service, he worked in his family’s companies in construction and education.
He began his political career in the CHP. In 2010, he became CHP Aliağa Youth Branch Chair and held this position for two years. In the March 31, 2024 local elections, he was the CHP’s Aliağa mayoral candidate but did not win the election. He then served as deputy secretary-general at İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.
HOW DID HE MOVE FROM THE CHP TO THE NEW PARTY?
The CHP İzmir Provincial Congress was held on October 18, 2025. According to DHA’s report, Güç, the sole candidate, received 447 of 473 valid votes. After delivering his speech at the congress, he fainted at the podium, quickly recovered and returned to the podium, saying he had not slept for a day.
His provincial chairmanship did not last a year. After the “nullity” decision in the CHP, the Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu administration that took office removed Güç from the provincial chairmanship. On July 24, 2026, Güç announced on social media that he had resigned from CHP membership and wrote, “I am resigning from my party, whose will has been usurped by the ruling power’s judicial club.” At the press conference on July 29, he announced that he and İzmir’s 30 district chairs were joining the NEW Party.
WHEN IS THE PROVINCIAL CONGRESS?
Coming first in the preliminary election alone does not mean becoming provincial chair. Güç will appear before the delegates as a candidate at the provincial congress. According to 12punto’s report, the NEW Party İzmir 1st Ordinary Provincial Congress will be held on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at the Tepekule Congress Center in Bayraklı. The position will become official after the vote at the congress.