candidate applications ended on 2 march 2015 with 2,822 applications. the first nomination primaries were held in zonguldak, mersin, malatya and adıyaman on the same day. most nomination primaries were held towards the end of march, with kılıçdaroğlu himself securing his nomination in i̇zmir's 2nd electoral district. former party leader deniz baykal contested the preliminary elections in antalya, though notably failed come first. mustafa sarıgül came 9th in the i̇stanbul 2nd electoral district election, failing even to win in the district of şişli where he had served as mayor between 1999 and 2014. chp supporters in trabzon and ardahan protested the lack of preliminary elections happening in their provinces. frustrated youth wing members occupied the chp provincial headquarters in trabzon, after which it was decided to hold preliminary elections there instead. turnout in i̇zmir was 55%, though turnouts were considerably higher in other provinces such as isparta, where 74% of chp members voted.