Turkey’s main opposition party re-elected its leader, Özgür Özel, on Sunday, two weeks after the arrest of İstanbul’s popular mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Özel was re-elected at an extraordinary congress of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Ankara that he called to prevent what he said was a plot by the government to appoint a trustee to the party.
Özel ran unopposed and won an overwhelming 1,171 votes out of 1,276.
The congress was held as Turkey was cracking down on the country’s largest demonstrations in years, triggered by last month’s arrest of İmamoğlu.
Following his re-election, Özel called for early elections, at the latest in November.
“In November at the latest, you will come to confront our candidate,” Özel said, addressing Erdoğan, hailing his party’s campaign against the Turkish president as “the greatest no-confidence motion in history.”
“We will defy you, we want our candidate at our side,” Özel added. “We invite you to once again appeal to the will of the people.”
Nearly 2,000 people have been detained in the unrest following the detention of the man widely considered Erdoğan’s greatest political challenger, including several hundred students, journalists and young people.
Özel has become the face of the protests, and the party hopes Sunday’s rally will help counter further political and judicial pressure, following the dismissal and arrest of seven mayors from its ranks.
‘Show of force’
Eren Aksoyoğlu, a political communications analyst, said by gathering crowds in the face of the government crackdown, the congress was an opportunity for a “show of force.”
“This congress is an opportunity to show our solidarity with the mayor of İstanbul and the arrested students,” CHP member Safi Karayalçın told Agence France-Presse.
“The mayor of İstanbul is unjustly in prison, as are the other arrested mayors and city council members. There is no justice left in Turkey,” said Mustafa Arslan, a party member from Diyarbakır in the southeast.
According to Turkish media reports, the authorities are seeking to remove the CHP’s leaders, a year after the opposition’s sweeping victory in municipal elections.
The party came out on top in the March 2024 local elections with nearly 38 percent of the vote across the country.
In addition to maintaining its lead in large cities such as İstanbul and Ankara, the CHP also made inroads into regions previously considered Erdoğan strongholds.
In the days following İmamoğlu’s arrest, the CHP drew tens of thousands of people into the streets of Istanbul and many other cities to denounce a “coup d’etat.”
‘Tenacious opposition’
Empowered by his re-election at the top of the party, Özel called for the demonstrations to continue.
“We will hold a rally in Samsun next Sunday, and then on May 19 in İzmir … and a night rally every Wednesday evening in a district of İstanbul,” he said.
The party’s campaign calling for the release of Istanbul’s mayor has gathered 7 million signatures, he said, adding that the aim is to collect at least as many signatures as half of Turkey’s 61.4 million voters.
“Since İmamoğlu’s arrest, Özgür Özel has given the CHP the image of a party that listens to the street and leads a tenacious opposition,” said Aksoyoğlu.
“This approach has been successful within the CHP and with voters,” the political analyst added.
For Berk Esen, a professor of political science at İstanbul’s Sabancı University, Özel “may not be a very charismatic speaker, but he’s articulate, precise and very critical of those in power.”
“Özel is at the head of the CHP but has not yet fully assumed the role of leader,” he added. “By pursuing a tenacious opposition to Erdoğan, he could strengthen his leadership.”
© Agence France-Presse