NEW Party is holding its first major congress today.
The first ordinary congress of the NEW Party, which was established on July 24, 2026, after Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was declared the chairman of the CHP again with the 'absolute nullity' decision taken about the congress in which there was a change of chairman in the CHP, is being held in Ankara Arena.
1,202 delegates will vote in the congress, where Özgür Özel is the only candidate for the chairmanship. At the congress, the chairman election will be held today and the party council (PM) election will be held tomorrow.
FOUNDATION CONGRESS DECLARATION WAS READ
At the 1st Ordinary Congress, the Establishment Congress Declaration was read by NEW Party General Secretary Yunus Emre.
Here is the Declaration of the Founding Congress of the NEW Party...
"Today, at the Establishment Congress of the New Party, which our nation founded and grew, we are starting the new phase of the great political and social breakthrough that will renew Turkey.
We, as delegates of the New Party Establishment Congress, once again declare our commitment to the values of our Republic, democracy, the rule of law, labor and social justice; We call all our citizens to a common struggle to build Turkey's future together.
What do we want to change in Turkey?
Political power, economic wealth and public opportunities are concentrated in a privileged minority close to the government; We will change this order in which millions of citizens cannot receive the reward of their labor and cannot look to the future with confidence.
While poverty, insecurity, corruption and injustice are growing, our country's production potential cannot be utilized. This order destroys social solidarity; It eliminates justice, freedoms and all the foundations of democracy.
The concentration of political and economic decisions in the hands of limited circles leads to the weakening of citizens and the restriction of Turkey's development opportunities.
In this period when the world is going through a major economic, technological and geopolitical transformation, Turkey's need is not only a change of power; It is the establishment of a new order for all of us.
In democracy, the only source of legitimacy of political power is national will. Efforts to seek the legitimacy of today's government outside the nation, with the support of other power centers are futile. The approval of any center of power and no external support can replace the will of the nation. Only our nation will decide Turkey's future.
We declare from here: We will change this dark order. Together, we will build a democratic Republic where the will of the nation is dominant with all its institutions, an economy that produces and shares prosperity fairly, and a strong Turkey where every citizen looks to their future with confidence.
Where do we get the power to make change?
We derive our strength from our nation that defends its democratic will. Our people have a strong objection to this dark order based on poverty, insecurity, lawlessness, injustice and privilege, and an unshakable determination to change Turkey.
The great will for change that emerged in the 2024 local elections was tried to be prevented by the civil coup process that started on March 19. Following the pressure on our elected officials, municipalities, fellow travelers and our Presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, the institutional existence of our political movement was intervened with the illegitimate absolute nullity decision dated May 21, 2026. All these interventions are basically an attack on the constitutional order and national sovereignty.
However, our nation did not step back. The struggle for democracy, which spread from Saraçhane to all over Turkey, revealed the determination of the people to defend their right to vote and be elected. The New Party was born out of this struggle. The nation gave the order for its establishment, the nation named it, and its budget was created with the contribution of the nation.
Now we are leaving the establishment phase behind and starting our march to power. We do not accept the understanding of politics that is content with mere opposition while preserving the knowledge of the past. Our people ask us not only to resist, but to win; He expects us not only to criticize but also to govern Turkey.
We assume this responsibility.
What principles will we adhere to?
Our political and intellectual foundation is the Republican Revolution led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Together we will strengthen freedom and equality, democracy and justice, development and fair distribution, independence and popular sovereignty.
Human rights, secularism, rule of law, empowerment of labor, public interest, social solidarity and peace are our fundamental principles.
With our contemporary social democratic identity, we bring together citizens from different political traditions, beliefs and social segments towards the common goal of democratic change. We are growing the Türkiye Alliance by protecting our principles and promising the same democracy, justice, equality and prosperity to all of Turkey.
We see the Republic as an accumulation and ideal that we will develop in line with freedom, equality, democracy and social justice.
How do we renew politics?
What is new is the way we do politics.
We give politics back to the citizens. Our members have equal say and decision rights in our party. District and provincial presidents and the general president are determined by the direct will of the members; The candidacy race is conducted with fair and transparent rules; We are establishing a party order in which managers are accountable and their terms of office are limited.
We will not limit citizens' participation in politics to election periods. We will expand neighborhood councils, district councils, provincial councils, participatory budget practices and continuous social consultation mechanisms from villages to cities. We will ensure that young people, women, labor organizations and civil society are effective in decision-making processes.
While internal party election and decision rights belong to our members, we will open policy production, consultation, volunteering and social work to the participation of all citizens. Starting from the neighborhoods, we will work together with unions, professional organizations, universities, civil society and democratic movements.
We will ensure that women, youth, all social segments and disadvantaged groups are represented equally and strongly in decision-making processes. We will first implement the principles of political ethics, financial transparency, merit and accountability in our own organization.
Our organizations will be areas of continuous participation that transform citizens' demands into policy. We will combine democratic debate with the capacity to make and implement effective decisions. We will show first in our own party how we will govern the country.
How will we govern Turkey?
We will govern Turkey with a parliamentary system based on a strong Parliament, separation of powers, independent judiciary and democratic control.
We will base public administration on law, merit and public interest. We will ensure the independence of the judiciary, the effectiveness of oversight institutions and the impartiality of public administration. We will ensure full transparency in public tenders, political financing and use of public resources. We will fight corruption with an independent judiciary and effective control mechanisms.
We will guarantee freedom of expression and the press, as well as the rights to association, peaceful demonstration and political participation. We will consider the rights of those who criticize and oppose us as the democratic guarantee of our own power.
We will strengthen local democracy. We will put an end to trustee practices. No elected administrator can be separated from the will of the people for political reasons; We will establish an order in which the people's preferences cannot be ignored for arbitrary and unlawful reasons. We will ensure that citizens have a greater say in the future of the city and neighborhood they live in.
We will demonstrate the power of the state with its law-abiding institutions, its capacity to protect the rights of citizens and provide quality public services. We will rebuild citizens' trust in the state and its institutions.
How will we increase production and social welfare?
We will put an end to the economic order based on low wages, insecure work, dependence on external resources and rent distribution. We will implement a development approach that supports producers, strengthens labor, increases productivity and spreads prosperity to the entire society.
We will combine the strategic leadership of the public, the creativity of private enterprise, the power of organized labor, cooperatives and scientific knowledge in a single development goal. We will strengthen production in industry and agriculture and realize digital and green transformation in a fair manner. We will develop high value-added production and increase qualified and secure employment. We will prepare for the great transformation that artificial intelligence and automation will create by protecting the rights and employment security of employees. We will develop vocational retraining, interprofessional transition and social protection mechanisms against job losses that may be caused by technological transformation. We will ensure that the productivity increase arising from technology is reflected not only on capital, but also on employees and society as a whole.
Millions of our citizens cannot make ends meet even though they work. Workers, public employees, white and blue collar workers, educated and qualified laborers have difficulty meeting their basic needs with their income and providing a good future for their children. The middle class is disappearing, wage earners are becoming poorer. We will change this system where working does not save people from poverty. We will permanently increase the purchasing power of wages, increase the share of labor in national income, and reduce the tax burden on employees. It will strengthen union organization and collective bargaining; We will establish an economy where employees can not only make a living, but also save and plan their future with confidence.
We will put an end to the system that condemns our retirees to poverty. We will increase pensions to a level sufficient to live humanely, and ensure that retirees receive a fair share of national income. We will resolve the gradual transition expectations in retirement and the loss of insurance rights arising from internship and apprenticeship periods on the basis of justice and equality.
We will consider agriculture as one of the strategic foundations of our food security, economic independence and rural development. We will base planned production, reduce the input costs of our farmers, and provide supports in a timely and predictable manner. It will strengthen small and family businesses, women and young farmers, and producer cooperatives; We will establish an agricultural system where the producer receives compensation for his labor and the consumer has access to healthy and affordable food.
While making price stability and economic confidence permanent, we will improve income distribution and reduce regional inequalities. We will base discipline and transparency in public finance, predictability in economic decisions, independent auditing and merit. We will explain the priorities, implementation stages, resource needs and social impacts of our economic program. We will protect the purchasing power of our citizens against the high cost of living. It will secure access to basic needs such as food, energy and shelter; We will implement effective public control in markets, fair pricing and social policies that protect low-income citizens.
We will shift the tax burden from labor and consumption towards wealth and high income. It will ensure that more taxes are collected from those who earn more and less from those who earn less; We will strengthen the resources of the social state through fair taxation of wealth, inheritance and capital income.
How will we secure the future of citizens?
We will guarantee education, health, housing, social security, care and humane working conditions as citizenship rights. We will establish a rights-based system that protects the dignity and independence of citizens in the field of social support. We will protect the rights of the unemployed, teachers waiting to be appointed, interview victims, precarious workers, disabled people and care workers. We will eliminate inequalities in the social security system and will not leave any of our citizens alone in the face of poverty and insecurity. We will put an end to workplace murders. We will eliminate child labor.
We will not deprive any child of healthy nutrition, quality education, safe living conditions and the opportunity to develop their talents due to poverty.
We will not leave housing to the mercy of the market. We will put an end to the housing crisis through planning, increase social housing production, and ensure that low- and middle-income citizens own housing in accessible conditions or can live on rent. We will make the right to housing one of the basic responsibilities of the social state.
We will protect nature, living spaces and animal rights without compromise. We will make Turkey resilient against the climate crisis and disasters.
We will strengthen secular, scientific and qualified public education, and secure university autonomy and academic freedoms. No student has to give up their education due to poverty; We will establish an education system that meets housing, nutrition and transportation needs. We will ensure young people's right to quality education, secure employment and independent living. We will stop brain drain by creating conditions where young people can live and produce freely in their countries and receive compensation for their labor. We will establish permanent knowledge and production networks with scientists and experts abroad.
We will make women's economic independence, life security, freedom and political equality one of the basic criteria of all our policies. We will decisively combat violence against women, activate protection mechanisms and end impunity. We will immediately put the Istanbul Convention into practice.
How will we strengthen equal citizenship and social unity?
All citizens of Turkey are equal owners of our common future. We see the free living of different identities, beliefs, thoughts and lifestyles within a democratic Republic as the source of our social strength.
We will strengthen the unity of our country with equality, common belonging and social solidarity. We will ensure the security of life and property of every citizen, their equality before the law and their fair use of public services.
To ensure that our citizens enjoy equal rights and participate in democratic life; to protect the border security and territorial integrity of our country; We see strengthening peace and stability in our region as our complementary responsibilities.
What kind of Türkiye do we aim for in the world?
We aim for a Türkiye that ensures its security, can make independent decisions, is respected with its balanced and stable foreign policy, is strengthened with its economy and technology, and gains international trust with its democratic institutions.
We will continue our goal of membership in the European Union. While we benefit from the opportunities offered by our NATO membership, we will preserve our ability to make independent decisions in line with our national interests. We will develop our relations with Russia and China on the basis of mutual benefit and diplomacy.
We will strengthen our relations with the Turkish world. We will protect the rights of our citizens and compatriots living abroad and ensure access to government services for our citizens all over the world.
Syria's territorial integrity, all social
