CHP dissident resigns, claims ‘party is ruled by cast system’

Turkey's main opposition party is facing more resignations as members claim the party is moving away from its ideological foundations. Tayfun İçli, a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP) who formerly served as a deputy and a state minister, recently announced that he has resigned from the party due to its deteriorating situation, and blamed the administration for turning into an arbitrary mechanism similar to a cast system.

In an official letter submitted to the party administration, İçli claimed that the party was governed by the use of violence and trickery, and has significantly deteriorated over the recent days.

"The CHP is currently administered by a cast system and an old-boy network by a specific group" İçli said, noting that the party's current system of administration is contrary to the founding principles of the party. He added that the structure "does nothing but destroy the hopes of the people" and claimed that CHP imitates the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

İçli's comparison of the party administration to a cast system is sardonic, as Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the CHP's current chairman, was previously referred to as "Kemal the Gandhi" mostly for his physical appearance which resembles that of Mahatma Gandhi, the famous leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India.

İçli strongly criticized the CHP for siding with Armenian genocide allegations and becoming a tool for imperialist lies. He argued that the party has seriously betrayed and insulted Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, and said "the CHP is no longer the same party as it was in the 1930s" – when the Dersim Massacre occurred – in order to appeal to what he referred to as 'Kurdish separatists' in the Southeastern province of Diyarbakır.

Internal conflict within the CHP officially began after the presidential elections when former deputy Emine Ülker Tarhan, announced her resignation due to the "weak and wrong policies and double standards" within the party. Tarhan's resignation was followed by Süheyl Batum, another prominent member who supported Tarhan, and claimed many dissidents are displeased with the party's policies. Batum was referred to the disciplinary committee and dismissed from the party for his remarks, while a similar incident occurred when Birgül Ayman Güler, a deputy from İzmir, was referred to the disciplinary committee for claiming that the party is allegedly cooperating with the Gülen Movement.

"The party administration turned the legal discipline mechanism into an arbitrary purge in order to remove critics of their administrative styles and policies," Güler was quoted as saying in response to her referral to the disciplinary committee.

Likewise, the recent controversy regarding the Şişli Municipality, which is administered by the CHP, has reached a serious level. In this case, the party was unable to resolve the conflict between current Mayor Hayri İnönü and Mustafa Sarıgül, the former mayor, and his son for allegedly threatening him and his family to resign, which was brought to judicial authorities.