Kılıçdaroğlu says CHP to hold congress after court injunction ends

Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) will hold a congress once a court-issued injunction is lifted, the party’s newly reinstated leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said Wednesday.

“We will hold a congress, friends. Can there be a party without a congress? A congress will be held,” Kılıçdaroğlu told reporters in response to questions about demands for a party congress.

“Of course, for this to happen, the congress must be held on legal grounds. There is an injunction decision. Once the injunction decision is lifted, the convention will be held, so there is no problem,” he added.

The CHP has descended into chaos after a May 21 court ruling that overturned a 2023 party primary which elected Özgür Özel as leader and reinstated Kılıçdaroğlu, setting off competing leadership claims between the rival camps. Three days later, riot police evicted Özel’s administration from the CHP’s Ankara headquarters after the ousted leader refused to leave. Authorities launched a probe into the violence that unfolded during the eviction. Özel has since been named the party’s parliamentary group chair.

Asked whether the party would have to wait until the Supreme Court of Appeals issues a final and binding ruling after reviewing the case, Kılıçdaroğlu said the issue would be discussed with legal experts within the party.

“We will meet with our lawyer friends, sit down and talk. What is the situation? How can we hold the convention as soon as possible? How can we organize it? We will work on these issues,” he said.

Responding to a question about Özel’s proposal to elect a party chair through the votes of 2 million members, Kılıçdaroğlu said the procedures were clear.

“It is already clear how the chairman is elected. You cannot bypass the convention. The party’s chairmen are elected by congress,” he said.

Özel and his allies are pushing for an early extraordinary congress to settle crisis, Turkish media reported earlier this week.

Despite the crisis, Özel moved quickly to scotch rumors he might leave the CHP to form a new political faction and urges his fellow party members to stay put.

“We have no intention of forming a new party,” he told journalists after attending prayers in Manisa, his hometown near the western resort of Izmir, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, also known as Qurban Bayram.

“”There are those who say ‘we should resign’, but no one should leave the party or resign. We will resolve this issue,” he said, repeating calls for a leadership primary “as soon as possible”.

DAILYSABAH