 since ousted leader Özgür Özel said on Tuesday that he would form a breakaway party, with departures reported in at least 10 provinces and the Netherlands.){kind=link}
More than 700 members, officials and elected representatives have announced their resignations from Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) since ousted leader Özgür Özel said on Tuesday that he would form a breakaway party, with departures reported in at least 10 provinces and the Netherlands.
The figure reflects public announcements, not an official membership count. Most of the total comes from a statement in Diyarbakır that 685 members had resigned. Separate claims that nearly 10,000 people left in Aydın and that 387,000 or more party members resigned nationwide had not been confirmed by the state party membership registry as of Thursday evening.
The departures follow a May 21 court ruling that annulled the CHP’s 2023 congress, removed Özel from the chairmanship and reinstated former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Critics describe the ruling as political interference. Özel led the CHP to first place nationwide in the 2024 local elections before the court returned Kılıçdaroğlu, who lost the 2023 presidential election, to the leadership.
Only one parliamentary resignation confirmed
İzmir lawmaker and former CHP deputy chair Murat Bakan was the only member of parliament whose resignation in the new wave had been confirmed. The parliament’s website listed the CHP with 134 seats after his departure.
Reports have put the number of lawmakers expected to join Özel at between 80 and 95. CHP parliamentary group deputy chair Murat Emir said the new party’s official work was continuing and that there was no confirmed date or number. Two other lawmakers, Nimet Özdemir and Ümit Dikbayır, left during the leadership crisis in June, before Özel announced the breakaway party. Özdemir later joined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Departures spread through municipalities and local branches
Odunpazarı Mayor Kazım Kurt in the central province of Eskişehir resigned with 22 of the district council’s 23 CHP members. Susuz district mayor Oğuz Yantemur in the northeastern province of Kars left with six council members, while Espiye Mayor Erol Karadere in the Black Sea province of Giresun announced a separate resignation. Former Eskişehir mayor Yılmaz Büyükerşen also left. Çanakkale Mayor Muharrem Erkek said he would join Özel but had not confirmed his resignation.
The wave follows earlier municipal departures after the May ruling. İzmir Mayor Cemil Tugay resigned on June 18, followed by his deputy, three council members and the provincial youth branch chair. Keşan Mayor Mehmet Özcan in Edirne left on June 24, and Şile acting mayor Sacit Terzi in İstanbul resigned on July 20.
Local officials announced 685 resignations in Diyarbakır, including members of a removed provincial board and officials from four districts, the ANKA news agency reported. Removed provincial chair Hikmet Saatçı and members of his former administration left in Aydın, but his claim of nearly 10,000 resignations remains unverified. The removed central district board in Osmaniye and two former local leaders in Edirne also resigned.
In İzmir 19 of the 21 Narlıdere district board members left their posts and memberships along with the women’s and youth branch administrations. The Bornova district board’s 23 full and four substitute members left their posts, although available reporting did not establish that all had ended their membership. The Menemen organization announced a collective departure without giving a number. Other resignations came from officials in Menderes, Karaman and Ayrancı.
Netherlands board leaves
CHP Netherlands Union chair Murat Han Gedikli and the organization’s board resigned their membership on Thursday. The union will continue as an association under Dutch law but will conduct its political work with Özel and jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s movement, ANKA reported.
Folk singer and former lawmaker Sabahat Akkiraz, musician Arif Sağ, singer and songwriter Onur Akın and 103-year-old party member Abdurrahman Gezer were among the other people who announced their departures.
Özel said the planned party would continue to support İmamoğlu as its presidential candidate. The party has not announced a name, and most lawmakers expected to join it had not submitted resignations by Thursday evening.