{"id":104243,"date":"2026-06-10T04:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T04:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/104243\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T04:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T04:36:11","slug":"rival-meetings-deepen-leadership-crisis-in-turkeys-main-opposition-chp-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/104243\/","title":{"rendered":"Rival meetings deepen leadership crisis in Turkey\u2019s main opposition CHP"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A leadership crisis in Turkey\u2019s main opposition Republican People\u2019s Party (CHP) deepened on Tuesday as ousted party leader \u00d6zg\u00fcr \u00d6zel addressed lawmakers in parliament, while Kemal K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu, reinstated as chairman by a controversial court ruling, held a rival meeting at party headquarters in Ankara.<\/p>\n

The CHP has been in turmoil since the 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice last month\u00a0annulled\u00a0the party\u2019s 38th Ordinary Congress in held in November 2023, when \u00d6zel defeated K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu and became chairman.<\/p>\n

The ruling has created a practical question inside the party: Who now has the authority to speak for the CHP in parliament?<\/p>\n

In recent days, the power struggle has shifted to who has the right to address the CHP\u2019s weekly parliamentary group meeting held on Tuesdays.<\/p>\n

The supporters of \u00d6zel, who was re-elected CHP parliamentary group chairman on May 23 after he was removed from party leadership by the court ruling, said his new position gave him the right to address the party\u2019s lawmakers in parliament.<\/p>\n

K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu\u2019s supporters, however, said that as party chairman, he has the authority to oversee the parliamentary group.<\/p>\n

K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu had been expected to go to parliament on Tuesday, raising fears of a confrontation between rival groups of supporters.<\/p>\n

Tensions briefly rose outside one of the gates of parliament, where verbal exchanges and minor scuffles were reported among visitors waiting to enter.<\/p>\n

The immediate standoff was defused after K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu decided not to go to parliament and visitors were barred from attending the group meeting.<\/p>\n

\u00d6zel instead addressed lawmakers at the scheduled meeting after first speaking to supporters gathered outside parliament.<\/p>\n

He told CHP lawmakers that he did not see his appearance at the parliamentary lectern as a victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor days, people discussed who would be at this podium today. I do not see speaking at this podium at the announced time as a success or a victory,\u201d he said, adding that what happened was \u201cnot a position gained, not a victory\u201d but a refusal to surrender.<\/p>\n

\u00d6zel accused the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of using the judiciary to weaken the CHP, saying the matter could not be portrayed as an internal party dispute.<\/p>\n

The CHP became Turkey\u2019s leading party in the March 2024 local elections, delivering President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u2019s ruling AKP\u00a0its worst electoral defeat since coming to power.<\/p>\n

Since then, CHP-run municipalities have faced a series of investigations and detentions, while \u0130stanbul Mayor Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu, widely seen as Erdo\u011fan\u2019s strongest potential rival, is in jail. The government says the judiciary acts independently.<\/p>\n

\u00d6zel also said he had refrained from attacking K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu personally out of respect for the party\u2019s past but was struggling to remain silent in the face of what he described as attacks on the CHP.<\/p>\n

\u00d6zel\u2019s supporters are pressing for an extraordinary congress before July 26, warning that delays could jeopardize the party\u2019s eligibility to run in elections.<\/p>\n

Turkey is scheduled to hold its next general election in 2028, although an early election is also being debated.<\/p>\n

\u00d6zel said a congress must be held before that date and accused those resisting an immediate vote of putting the hopes of millions of opposition voters at risk.<\/p>\n

K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu, meanwhile, held an alternative meeting at CHP headquarters, where he vowed to pursue what he called \u201cclean politics\u201d and remove those he accused of corrupting the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will do clean politics. We will put an end to all those who are dirty,\u201d K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu said. \u201cThis party is a party that gives direction to the state, a party that founded the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

His remarks were interrupted at times by chants of \u201cExpulsion\u201d from supporters in the hall.<\/p>\n

K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu repeated allegations of irregularities in the 2023 congress, saying no one who \u201cbuys political will\u201d could remain in the CHP.<\/p>\n

\u201cI give you money, you give me votes, such a thing cannot happen,\u201d he said. \u201cThose who buy the will of the people cannot exist in this party and they will not.\u201d<\/p>\n

The case stems from allegations of irregularities in the 2023 leadership vote, including claims of vote buying and manipulation. The CHP denies wrongdoing and says the lawsuits are part of a broader judicial campaign to weaken the party after its gains in the March 2024 local elections.<\/p>\n

K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu also accused \u00d6zel\u2019s supporters of seeking support abroad, saying no CHP chairman could go overseas and ask why foreign actors were not helping the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one should worry, I will convene the congress,\u201d K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu said. \u201cI will of course hold a moral and honorable congress. You will of course elect our chairman with your votes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The split at the CHP was also reflected in lawmakers\u2019 attendance.<\/p>\n

Ninety-eight CHP deputies attended the parliamentary group meeting addressed by \u00d6zel, while 18 followed K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu\u2019s meeting. Twenty-two lawmakers attended neither meeting.<\/p>\n

Party members close to \u00d6zel said the figures showed that support among lawmakers remained with the elected chairman.<\/p>\n

The next major test in the crisis is expected on June 11, when the party\u2019s party council is due to meet.<\/p>\n

\u00d6zel\u2019s supporters are expected to renew calls for an extraordinary congress, while K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu favors a regular congress process beginning at the neighborhood, district and provincial levels, a timetable that could take months.<\/p>\n

An official close to \u00d6zel told Deutsche Welle Turkish edition that that a congress must be held before July 26, claiming that failure to do so could risk the CHP\u2019s eligibility to run in elections under Turkey\u2019s Political Parties Law.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot holding the congress as soon as possible means handing the CHP over to Erdo\u011fan,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n

K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu\u2019s supporters reject that argument, saying the relevant provision would not apply while the party\u2019s status remains the subject of ongoing judicial proceedings.<\/p>\n

This article is republished from the\u00a0Turkish Minute<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A leadership crisis in Turkey\u2019s main opposition Republican People\u2019s Party (CHP) deepened on Tuesday as ousted party leader…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104244,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[83],"tags":[422,423,425,426,312,427,33603,8632,430,431,131,132],"class_list":["post-104243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-stockholm","tag-ak-party","tag-akp","tag-democracy","tag-erdogan","tag-human-rights","tag-justice","tag-kemal-kilicdaroglu","tag-ozgur-ozel","tag-republican-peoples-party-chp","tag-rule-of-law","tag-stockholm","tag-sweden"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116723960204381601","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}