CHP halts ordinary congress in Istanbul due to juggling complaints of central office

The Republican People's Party's (CHP) ordinary congress process in Istanbul and its districts, which have the biggest number of delegates compared to other districts, have been halted upon the order of the party's chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlun due to the high number of complaints that are coming to the central office of the party with claims suggesting that there is juggling with the party's provincial delegate lists.

Hürriyet daily reported yesterday that some acts of the CHP's Istanbul branch are shown as one of the main reasons behind the decisions, which include sending some district heads and members of board of directors to discipline, making changes in delegate lists by pointing to his comments on youth and women as the reason and deciding to transmit delegate lists of the Istanbul branch to election boards in district centers.

The general ordinary congress of the CHP is expected to be held on Feb. 3-4. On the first day, either a new chairperson will be elected or current Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will keep his post. On the second and last day of the congress, members of the party assembly will be elected. Hundreds of people have so far declared their candidacy to become a party assembly member.

CHP Chairman Kılıçdaroğlu has been criticized on a wide range of issues, ranging from poor performance in elections and referendums to his overall performance since taking office in the CHP in 2010 after Deniz Baykal resigned over a sex tape scandal. Kılıçdaroğlu has lost the national vote eight times in elections and referendums so far. Despite the harsh criticism over the years, Kılıçdaroğlu is expected to run for chairman as the sole candidate.