CHP figures accuse party of sectarianism

Following the Ankara-based Objective Research Center's (ORC) recently conducted public survey on the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which found that half of participants think the party has turned into an "Alevi party" with the removal of fundamental political principles, former CHP deputies have strongly criticized what they call the party's sectarian policies in comments they gave to the newspaper Sabah on Thursday.

As a result of ongoing intra-party tensions and debates, the ORC survey found that found 53.5 percent of participants think that the CHP is abandoning its fundamental principles and turning into an "Alevi party," representing a religious minority in Turkey. Former CHP deputy İhsan Özkes said that the CHP's stance on sectarianism is only revealing the obvious, while former state minister and former CHP deputy Tayfun İçli said "there is not only sectarianism but also micro-level 'Kurdism' in the CHP administration." Additionally, former CHP Central Executive Board (MYK) member Savcı Sayan also claimed the party structure as a deception to increase ethnic discrimination in Turkey.

Özkes echoed claims the party encourages the majority of an ethnic minority group to be in the party administration. He said: "The main reason for re-electing the CHP's Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to the chairmanship despite losing seven previous elections is due to the structure of the party administration. He has been trying to hide his failures by criticizing a successful leader, the president." İçli has also criticized the Kılıçdaroğlu administration: "It would be disregarding a point to only mention the Alevi structure in the CHP administration. There is also a micro-level Kurdish structure in the party administration. The new understanding of the CHP administration is to exclude patriotic and Republican people from the party."