Local power struggle exposes divisions in Türkiye’s New Party

A power struggle is intensifying within the New Party (YP), with rival factions reportedly seeking to consolidate control over local party organizations ahead of a nationwide congress process.

The YP formally announced its congress schedule last month, setting the stage for district and provincial contests that are expected to determine the party’s organizational structure ahead of future elections.

In several provinces, mayors, provincial party chairs, lawmakers and figures aligned with former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu are reportedly working separately to shape local organizations by backing their preferred candidates. The competition has raised concerns within the party that disputes over local leadership could deepen existing divisions before the organization has fully established itself across the country.

The latest example emerged in Biga, a district of Çanakkale province in western Türkiye.

Cemal Mantar, the founding chair of the YP’s Biga district organization, announced that he would not seek the position again just one month after helping establish the local branch.

Mantar stressed that he was not leaving the party or withdrawing from politics and rejected suggestions that his decision was the result of an internal crisis.

However, local party sources have alleged that Çanakkale Mayor Muharrem Erkek backed Barış Çetin as a candidate to replace Mantar, creating tensions within the district organization. According to the allegations, the dispute prompted Mantar to withdraw his candidacy despite having recently helped establish the party’s local organization.

The episode has fueled concerns that competition over local positions could become one of the first major tests of the YP’s internal cohesion.

The party has already faced a separate controversy in the southeastern city of Gaziantep.

Seydi Ahmet Keleş, a YP member in the province, allegedly attacked Gaziantep lawmaker Melih Meriç with a knife after Meriç declined to support his bid for the district chairmanship. The incident attracted widespread attention and became an early example of the tensions surrounding the party’s local organization.

Membership lists prepared for the congress process have also become a source of dispute. Some individuals reportedly claimed that they had completed the process of joining the party but later could not find their names on the official membership lists.

The allegations have raised concerns that disputes over membership could become intertwined with leadership contests, as the composition of party membership directly affects who is eligible to participate in local congresses and influence the selection of new leadership.

The competition appears to be particularly significant because the YP is still in the process of building its organizational network. Unlike an established political party with long-standing local structures, the new party is attempting to create provincial and district organizations while simultaneously defining its political identity and internal power balance.

The disputes are reportedly not limited to smaller districts. Competition over leadership positions in major cities has also become increasingly tense, according to reports, raising the possibility that some upcoming congresses could take place in a highly contentious atmosphere.

The developments come as the YP seeks to establish itself as a major force in Turkish opposition politics.

In late July, Özgür Özel launched the New Party after being ousted from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) following a court ruling that invalidated the party’s previous congress.

Özel had led the CHP to a historic victory in the 2024 local elections, winning control of several major municipalities, including Istanbul, Ankara and other major urban centers. After the split, he argued that the YP could build on that momentum and develop into a broader political movement.

“The New Party is the first party in Turkish political history to be founded as the main opposition,” Özel said shortly after its establishment. “It is not a splinter party formed by people leaving another party in search of something else. It is actually a party built around an understanding, and around resistance and struggle against the coup that was carried out.”

The launch followed months of turmoil within the CHP, where a leadership dispute between Özel and former party Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu escalated following a court ruling that invalidated the previous party congress.

The ruling, widely described in Turkish political circles as the “absolute nullity” decision, paved the way for Kılıçdaroğlu to return to the party leadership and further intensified the confrontation between the two camps.

Özel’s supporters have accused Kılıçdaroğlu of attempting to undermine the CHP’s prospects of winning the next presidential election under Özel’s leadership, with some of his allies going as far as branding the former chairman a “traitor.”

Kılıçdaroğlu, meanwhile, has continued to challenge Özel and his supporters, deepening the political rupture that eventually contributed to the establishment of the YP.

Özel has sought to present the new party not simply as a breakaway organization but as a political movement capable of attracting voters and members beyond the CHP’s traditional base.

He has said the YP reached 600,000 members shortly after its establishment and predicted that membership would rise to 1 million in a short period.

The party’s ability to translate that rapid growth into a functioning nationwide organization, however, is now facing an early test as local factions compete for influence.

DAILYSABAH