CHP increases pressure on deputies, looks to form united rhetoric in party

Republican People's Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has been meeting with deputies in order to convey warnings that he expects a united rhetoric within the party before upcoming elections.

In the face of growing intra-party debates and rising mixed messages from deputies, it has been reported that the CHP has stepped up its warnings that aim to prevent conflicting intra-party rhetoric.

According to the reports in the media, CHP chair Kılıçdaroğlu warned deputies during his meetings and called on them to act in line with a document which will be sent weekly to inform deputies on desired attitudes regarding an issue.

In relation to the issue, Kılıçdaroğlu said that "in order to become successful in the elections, we need to convey a united voice," and added that the rhetoric and the acts of the party members should be in line with each other.

Commenting on the CHP's preparations for the elections, Kılıçdaroğlu stressed that deputies need to focus on areas where the party has no deputies currently, and highlighted that the reports provided by the deputies will shed light on future steps that will be taken.

Kılıçdaroğlu has come under fire from within the party as he has lost the national vote eight times in elections and referendums since taking office in 2010 after Chairman Deniz Baykal resigned over a sex tape scandal. Unrest in the CHP has also risen since last May, when Mersin Deputy Fikri Sağlar was referred to the disciplinary committee due to his criticism of Kılıçdaroğlu. Also, the party's deputy head, Selin Sayek Böke, resigned, igniting heated debates on democracy in the party.

The CHP received 25.31 percent of the vote and 133 seats in Parliament in the Nov. 1, 2015 general elections. Many CHP deputies previously criticized the party's vote share, saying that getting 25 percent of the vote was not a success.