Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Yaşar Tüzün, considered to be close to former presidential candidate Muharrem İnce, on Monday said party delegates would provide the necessary support to change party management at an emergency convention, the T24 news website reported.
“We demand an emergency convention. The petition for it has been signed in the presence of a notary. As the number of signatures has already exceeded 100, we think we will be able to collect the necessary number,” Tüzün said during a press conference.
According to party bylaws, after calling for an emergency convention party members must collect 625 signatures from delegates in 15 days.
CHP spokesperson Bülent Tezcan responded to Tüzün’s remarks on Monday, stating that they did not believe the intra-party opposition could collect the requisite number of signatures.
In the presidential and parliamentary elections of June 24, İnce garnered almost 30 percent of the vote, while the CHP received only 22 percent. Following the results some deputies urged the executive board to hold a convention, saying İnce’s success made him the “natural leader” of the party.
In February the CHP held a convention in which party chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was re-elected, while his rival İnce garnered a significant amount of support from the delegates.
CHP management had previously stated that the party should not hold a convention before the local elections next March.