The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has misled Western European countries by portraying itself as a democratic party that supports human rights, freedom of expression and contemporary values. So much so that they ganged up with this party to prevent the approval of constitutional changes in a referendum on April 16 that will now usher Turkey into a presidential system as of 2019.

For some time, CHP's leader and main opposition leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has been making moves to scuttle the opposition within his party and create a one-man rule system, which he has accused other politicians of doing in the past.He has changed the party statute in an extraordinary convention thus tightening his grip on the party's leadership.

Yet, that is not all. He has now approved a set of rules designed to silence opposing politicians within his party as well as all the deputies that to not follow the party's line.

The CHP set new ground rules for party officials and parliamentarians who make appearances in the media. Here's a look at some of the rules:

- CHP members who will appear before media and the public will not present their personal views on subjects of strategic importance.

- CHP members, party officials and elected people will have to get permission before they appear in the media. They will ask for a written note on the party policies on the subjects they want to talk about.

- Internal issues of the party will only be discussed in the related bodies of the party. Internal party issues cannot be discussed in public or in the media.

- Those representing the CHP in the media will only be allowed to talk about issues of their own expertise.

- Recorded programs will be reviewed before being aired. For interviews, the text of the interview should be reviewed before publication.

- On social media, messages and personnel views should not be mentioned and the messages should be in line with party policies.

The CHP complains about the emergency rule in Turkey, yet it is ironic that the party itself is actually imposing strict regulations on its members and parliamentarians that only exist in authoritarian single-party political systems?

The emergency rule in Turkey at the moment is light and hardly imposes any restrictions on the daily lives of citizens. Yet, the rules set by the CHP leadership are clearly a blow to freedom of expression, democratic values and are extremely unfriendly to the media. Let us see how CHP spokespeople defend these rather crooked set of rules. It is evident that Kılıçdaroğlu understands that he cannot effectively silence the opposition in his party and is now opting for undemocratic measures.