 deepened on Tuesday as ousted party leader Özgür Özel addressed lawmakers in parliament, while Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, reinstated as chairman by a controversial court ruling, held a rival meeting at party headquarters in Ankara.){kind=link}
A leadership crisis in Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deepened on Tuesday as ousted party leader Özgür Özel addressed lawmakers in parliament, while Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, reinstated as chairman by a controversial court ruling, held a rival meeting at party headquarters in Ankara.
The CHP has been in turmoil since the 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice last month annulled the party’s 38th Ordinary Congress in November 2023, when Özel defeated Kılıçdaroğlu and became chairman.
The ruling has created a practical question inside the party: Who now has the authority to speak for the CHP in parliament?
In recent days, the power struggle has shifted to who has the right to address the CHP’s weekly parliamentary group meeting held on Tuesdays.
The supporters of Özel, who was re-elected CHP parliamentary group chairman on May 23 after he was removed from party leadership by the court ruling, said his new position gave him the right to address the party’s lawmakers in parliament.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s supporters, however, said that as party chairman, he has the authority to oversee the parliamentary group.
Kılıçdaroğlu had been expected to go to parliament on Tuesday, raising fears of a confrontation between rival groups of supporters.
Tensions briefly rose outside one of the gates of parliament, where verbal exchanges and minor scuffles were reported among visitors waiting to enter.
The immediate standoff was defused after Kılıçdaroğlu decided not to go to parliament and visitors were barred from attending the group meeting.
Özel instead addressed lawmakers at the scheduled meeting after first speaking to supporters gathered outside parliament.
He told CHP lawmakers that he did not see his appearance at the parliamentary lectern as a victory.
“For days, people discussed who would be at this podium today. I do not see speaking at this podium at the announced time as a success or a victory,” he said, adding that what happened was “not a position gained, not a victory” but a refusal to surrender.
Özel accused the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of using the judiciary to weaken the CHP, saying the matter could not be portrayed as an internal party dispute.
The CHP became Turkey’s leading party in the March 2024 local elections, delivering President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP its worst electoral defeat since coming to power.
Since then, CHP-run municipalities have faced a series of investigations and detentions, while İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, widely seen as Erdoğan’s strongest potential rival, is in jail. The government says the judiciary acts independently.
Özel also said he had refrained from attacking Kılıçdaroğlu personally out of respect for the party’s past but was struggling to remain silent in the face of what he described as attacks on the CHP.
Özel’s supporters are pressing for an extraordinary congress before July 26, warning that delays could jeopardize the party’s eligibility to run in elections.
Turkey is scheduled to hold its next general election in 2028, although an early election is also being debated.
Özel said a congress must be held before that date and accused those resisting an immediate vote of putting the hopes of millions of opposition voters at risk.
Kılıçdaroğlu, meanwhile, held an alternative meeting at CHP headquarters, where he vowed to pursue what he called “clean politics” and remove those he accused of corrupting the party.
“We will do clean politics. We will put an end to all those who are dirty,” Kılıçdaroğlu said. “This party is a party that gives direction to the state, a party that founded the state.”
His remarks were interrupted at times by chants of “Expulsion” from supporters in the hall.
Kılıçdaroğlu repeated allegations of irregularities in the 2023 congress, saying no one who “buys political will” could remain in the CHP.
“I give you money, you give me votes, such a thing cannot happen,” he said. “Those who buy the will of the people cannot exist in this party and they will not.”
The case stems from allegations of irregularities in the 2023 leadership vote, including claims of vote buying and manipulation. The CHP denies wrongdoing and says the lawsuits are part of a broader judicial campaign to weaken the party after its gains in the March 2024 local elections.
Kılıçdaroğlu also accused Özel’s supporters of seeking support abroad, saying no CHP chairman could go overseas and ask why foreign actors were not helping the party.
“No one should worry, I will convene the congress,” Kılıçdaroğlu said. “I will of course hold a moral and honorable congress. You will of course elect our chairman with your votes.”
The next major test in the crisis is expected on June 11, when the party’s party council is due to meet.
Özel’s supporters are expected to renew calls for an extraordinary congress, while Kılıçdaroğlu favors a regular congress process beginning at the neighborhood, district and provincial levels, a timetable that could take months.
An official close to Özel told Deutsche Welle Turkish edition that that a congress must be held before July 26, claiming that failure to do so could risk the CHP’s eligibility to run in elections under Turkey’s Political Parties Law.
“Not holding the congress as soon as possible means handing the CHP over to Erdoğan,” the official said.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s supporters reject that argument, saying the relevant provision would not apply while the party’s status remains the subject of ongoing judicial proceedings.