Battle for election heats up in divided CHP of Türkiye

Özgür Özel insists on staying involved in the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) while Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu appears determined to continue his purge of Özel loyalists from Türkiye’s oldest party.

The ousted chair’s supporters managed to collect the signatures of 833 delegates for a petition on a new intra-party election. The petition was delivered on Wednesday to the office of Kılıçdaroğlu, who took back his seat as the main opposition leader last May after a court verdict reinstated him.

Some 170 more delegates also sent their signatures informally for the petition, though they are barred by a court from formally joining the petition due to a trial on vote-buying in the CHP. The same vote-buying case cost Özel his seat, while Kılıçdaroğlu vowed to cleanse the CHP of “corruption” both in reference to the alleged vote-buying and corruption cases plaguing CHP-run municipalities.

Kılıçdaroğlu, who helmed the CHP from 2010 to 2023, lost both the presidential race in which he was the candidate of a six-party alliance and an intra-party election that year. During his campaign for the presidency, he was touted as the last hope of the opposition to end the reign of the wildly successful Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Nowadays, he is branded as a traitor by supporters of the CHP for accepting the court ruling reinstating him to office.

Özel, who left his office in CHP headquarters after a dramatic confrontation between his supporters and police, was quick to call for a new intra-party election, firmly believing that the party members will restore his rule in the party. Under the party charter, the CHP is required to hold an extraordinary intra-party vote for leadership if more than half of the delegates vote for it. If the Kılıçdaroğlu administration rejects the appeal, the Özel camp is considering taking the matter to court, according to media outlets.

Rumors are circulating that Özel and his supporters may establish a new party, but Özel refuted the claims, though he signaled that he may consider it if other options fail. He told the pro-CHP news outlet Nefes on Wednesday that he was intent not to “hand over” the CHP to “others.” He underlined that they would try all legal means to trigger a new election in the party, adding that the option of establishing a new party or switching to an existing political party with his supporters were “worst-case scenarios.” Özel complained that the Kılıçdaroğlu administration was doing everything to curb the majority he and his supporters retained in the party.

“First, they illegally removed our nine colleagues from the central administrative committee, and in response, we left the party assembly. The CHP currently has no party assembly,” he highlighted.

On Wednesday, Kılıçdaroğlu was scheduled to chair the party’s central administrative committee to discuss potential expulsions and the likelihood of a new intra-party vote. Party sources speaking to media outlets say that his administration has focused on the removal of heads of the party’s provincial branches who expressed loyalty to the Özel camp and those involved in corruption cases.

According to party insiders cited by Turkish media, dozens of lawmakers who previously supported calls for an extraordinary congress remain reluctant to leave the CHP and join a newly established movement. Several reports suggest that a significant number of deputies and municipal mayors continue to favor remaining within the party despite the ongoing leadership dispute.

Supporters of a potential breakaway argue that a new political movement could distance itself from the CHP’s historical baggage and potentially appeal to conservative voters who have traditionally been reluctant to support the party.

However, political observers note that any newly established party would face significant organizational and financial challenges. Unlike the CHP, which receives substantial public funding due to its parliamentary representation, a new party would need to build a nationwide organization and campaign structure without immediate access to state financial support.

DAILYSABAH